After The Storm
by dreamsongs8
Summary: A fix-it fic for the series finale in which Sookie stands up for herself rather than let Bill manipulate her. She'll choose the life she wants to have and who she wants in it.
1. Chapter 1

Sookie Stackhouse was livid. The man she used to think was the love of her life was standing here telling her he was choosing to end his life, and that he was doing it "for her," so she could "have a normal life." As though she had no say. If he wanted an excuse for his decision, she would not be it. And on top of that, he was asking her to be the one to do it which was beyond gall, bordering on cruelty.

"Don't you dare put this on me, Bill Compton! You're making this choice for yourself, and taking one away from me. You don't get to decide how I live my life and who I live it with. You dying isn't gonna change that. And you have the audacity to ask me to be the one to end your life? To give up my powers, what makes me special and powerful? Part of my very being?"

"Sookie, don't you see? This is what's best for you," he pleaded.

"You think I'm not capable of deciding that for myself?" fumed Sookie, fed up with his selfishness, despite his seemingly good intentions.

"I think when it comes to me your judgment will always be clouded, same as my own when it comes to you. I must do this. Please, help me?" Bill all but begged.

"No. If you are set on doing this, then know that you are not doing it for me because it is not what I want, and I will not help you. I think you need to leave. I love you, but if you are set on doing this I don't want to see you again, it's too hard."

"Sookie, please try to understand..."

"No, Bill. How about for once YOU try to understand! Understand what you're doing to the people you claim to love. What you're asking from me is too much and you need to leave."

"I see. May I see you again, though? Before the end?"

"It's too hard, Bill. And there's nothing more to say. Please don't make me rescind your invitation."

"Can you at least think about it?"

"No, Bill. You don't have to die, you're choosing to. So I'm not gonna take on the guilt of your decision. And if you want to end your life, it won't be by my hands. I'd have to live with the pain of that the rest of my life and I can't accept that. I've done everything I can for you and you refuse to accept it. I will mourn you, but this is goodbye," she finished, leaning in to place a kiss on his lips before whispering, "Bill Compton, I rescind your invitation into my home."

Bill backed out of the door very slowly, but steadily; a single red tear falling down his face to match the ones on Sookie's face, but still she held firm. He stood in her front lawn, both of them gazing at each other for what would probably be the last time, before his head dropped and he turned to cross the cemetery back to his mansion.

Sookie sat in her dining room feeling empty, trying to reconcile her thoughts with the turns her life had taken. She loved Bill, she always had at least a little bit, even when he hurt her. Even when she was with other men, he was her first love and despite how awfully wrong it went with them, he would always own a piece of her soul. Which is why it was always him that hurt her the most. And she always forgave him. She gave him all the chances she never seemed to give anyone else. Not for the first time, she found her mind wandering to the "what-ifs" of her life. Imagining how things might be different if she'd never met Bill - she shuddered at that thought though, despite everything it cost her, meeting him was a catalyst to good things as well as bad things. For one, she'd never have known about her fairy heritage if it hadn't been for the vampires in her life, so she would always have wondered about her telepathy. For another, there were people she'd met that she never wanted to un-meet. There was also the fact that she'd be dead.

She paused at that and remembered a long ago conversation on her front porch. Eric saying Bill had let the Rattray's beat her within an inch of her life so that he could get his blood in her. She'd been so mad about everything else that it never occurred to her that her life wouldn't have been in danger if he hadn't orchestrated it. She frowned at this new thought and started cataloging all of these things she'd learned about Bill over the years, to try to help her jumbled mind make sense out of this chaos. He said he loved her, that he loved her so much he was choosing to die for her. But he'd been sent to procure her by the Queen - to seduce her and get her on their side, but he claimed he fell in love with her and he never did take her to the Queen. But he also never told her about it until Eric forced his hand, which Eric only did because Bill had tried to kill him to cover his own tracks.

Eric, now there was another thought all together. One of the "what-if" scenarios that frequently went through her head was what if she'd given Eric a chance as himself, with his memories intact? What life would be like with the real Eric. She wondered, not for the first time, how things would have been different if she hadn't been confronted by both of them at the same time - if she'd had time alone with Eric to discuss it without Bill's presence. Bill was right about one thing, he sure did cloud her judgement. As usual, though, when her thoughts strayed to Eric and what could have been, she came to the conclusion that it didn't really matter. It was over and done with, and they were no longer the two people they had been when they had fallen in love.

She'd been sitting at the table for so long, lost in her own thoughts, that she hadn't given any notice to how much time had passed. A noise from outside caught her attention and pulled her out of her reverie. She spared a glance at the clock before heading to the front door, grabbing her shotgun along the way. She peered through the window and saw that there were men standing in her yard, staring at the house silently. They were Japanese, and appeared from their clothing to be with the group of men she'd seen at Eric's bar the day before. She frowned, wondering why they had come to her house; especially as Eric didn't seem to be with them. Common sense told her not to open the door, remembering their swiftness to anger when she'd encountered them the day before. She panicked for a moment, trying to figure out what she could do against such skilled fighters who weren't inhibited by a lack of invitation into her home. But before she could fully form a plan, a blur of black leather and blonde hair had removed the necessity for plans or panic by removing the heads from her unwanted guests. This time she did open the door.

"Eric," she said, simply.

He looked up from his kill, glancing with amusement at the shotgun in her hands. "Sookie."

"Wanna explain?"

"In a minute. I need to dispose of the trash," he said, gesturing at the bodies at his feet.

Sookie just nodded, then moved to sit on the steps. What he did with the bodies, she neither knew or cared. She was just grateful he wasn't leaving them for her to deal with. The fact that she no longer cared about such brutal deaths occurring in front of her eyes, as long as it wasn't one of her own, only gave her brief pause. Her life had changed in so many ways. Not all for the good, but not all for the bad either. _'More to think about later'_ she thought as Eric approached her at last, covered in blood and looking positively gleeful. Until he saw her face and remembered their last conversation earlier that evening.

"Did you speak with Bill?" "What was that all about?" they both asked at the same time. They each gave a sad smile before Sookie decided she'd let Eric go first.

"Yes, I did. I let him speak his piece, and I can't say I approve of what he's doing, or why he's doing it, but it's his choice. There's nothing I can do. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna let him put it on me and ask me to help him do it."

"He asked you to do what?" Eric interrupted, anger apparent in his tone.

"He asked me to use the last of my light to kill him."

"Why? Why would he ask this of you?"

"It would take away all of my fae abilities, including my telepathy. In his eyes it would be a 'gift' to be rid of it, since he's so adamant about me having his idea of a normal human life."

"This is not something you desire as well?" Eric asked, looking mildly perplexed.

"No, and Bill would know that if he'd ever bothered to ask me my opinion on my own life. A normal life isn't in the cards for me."

"But if you lost your telepathy, you could be with a human and have a family."

"I'd still be passing it down to my children and I don't want that for them. Besides, it's my decision to make for myself, not his."

He was silent for a while, then finally he turned towards her. "I see. Then I apologize for my role in facilitating the meeting with Compton. I thought it was something you would want to hear but I see now that he was not completely forthcoming with me."

"It's alright. I did need to talk to him. If only to say goodbye."

"You do not wish to see him again?"

"No."

Wisely, Eric said no more on the topic and chose to answer her first question. "The men I killed were sent by the man you met at my bar yesterday. He found out that you knew about the cure and sent these men to apprehend you, or kill you. Either way, they won't be a concern again."

"Weren't there a lot more of them back at your bar?" she asked, confused.

"There were."

"Not anymore, I take it?"

"Decidedly not. They apprehended Pam while I was here earlier tonight and threatened to kill her to get your location from me. It was then I decided our partnership was through. I figured it was only right to come here next and take care of the issue personally."

"Who were those guys?"

"It might be safer for you not to know. But, since it concerns my next question for you, I suppose I should tell you some of it. They were going to synthesize Sarah's blood as a treatment for Hep-V, not a cure. Pam and I were to be partners with him, and I would be the spokesperson. However he threatened the two people I care about most, so I decided to - what is the phrase? Remove the middle man."

"Y'all gonna do it the same way? Or sell it as a cure?"

"A little of both." When Sookie only nodded, he frowned slightly. "You've acquired a sense of moral ambiguity, I see."

She just shrugged. "The world is a morally ambiguous place sometimes. Besides, it's not like you're hurting anyone. Vampires will still be helped, and you'll make a lot of money. I don't see the problem with that."

"Good because my next request concerns that exact topic, and you."

"How so?" she asked, hesitantly.

"I'm giving you and Jessica each a 5% share in the corporation that Pam and I will be creating in return for your continued silence about the existence of a full cure."

"Eric, that's not necessary. You know I won't say anything."

"I know this. But it is fair. And it would give you the opportunity to figure out what you want to do next, without having to worry about money. You can do anything you choose."

"But I won't have earned it, it wouldn't feel right."

"Sookie I know that to you, keeping this quiet just seems like the right thing to do but you don't see how rare of a quality that is. There are those that would try to extort us if the truth got out. Your continued silence is insurance against this. Therefore it is worth the money, even if you do not believe it to be so. Please do not fight me on this."

Sookie sighed, "Alright Eric. Thank you, then."

"You are more than welcome. I must go now. I have much to do, and you need time to grieve. Even for you, this has been a particularly bad week. But don't go thinking this is goodbye. I will see you again soon, Miss Stackhouse." He moved to stand up, taking her hand as he did to help her up as well, pulling her into a familiar embrace.

"Thanks again, for everything, Eric. I know I make it hard to care about me sometimes, but….well, thanks for doin' it anyway."

He said nothing, but held her marginally tighter. When they pulled apart, he said, "You will inform me when Mr. Compton has passed?"

"Yes. I'll do that."

"Thank you. I'll have paperwork drawn up for yourself and Miss Hamby soon, please speak with her about this, as I'm afraid I will not have time. Until then," he said, inclining his head before heading back down her driveway.


	2. Chapter 2

Sookie had a hard time finding sleep that night. She struggled with whether she'd done the right thing with Bill or not. She believed she had, but it still felt cruel to just abandon him when he was going to die any time now. But again she thought of what he said about him clouding her judgement and wondered how much of that was her own common sense and how much of it was his effect on her.

She also pondered Eric's offer, and the wide open future that lay before her once Bill was gone. What would she do now? Alcide had left everything to her, not a fortune but enough to get by on for a while. She wouldn't have to go back to work at Bellefleur's. A fact that once might have made her sad, but now only made her relieved. Too much had happened there, bad and good. It was where she met Bill. It was where she'd spent the last several years of her life, off and on. And it was never the same once Sam sold it to Arlene. Sure, Arlene was doing a great job running it despite the circumstances, but it wasn't the same and Sookie had only stayed on as a favor to Arlene. She hadn't needed the money once she and Alcide moved in together. Alcide - another pang in her heart. She wished she had loved him more. It was hard to just wish he hadn't died, which she did, but even if he'd lived she knew they wouldn't have lasted. Her heart was never really available to give away. Well, this was just a night for sad thoughts across the board.

Eric's agreement offered her a sense of independence and freedom she'd never had in her life. Freedom to choose what she wanted to do. Should she stay in Bon Temps? This was her home, but it didn't feel like home anymore. And she certainly didn't want to continue waitressing if she had the opportunity to do more. Around dawn, sleep finally came for her and she welcomed it thoroughly.

She awoke not very long after, having had a restless sleep full of nightmares of Faery, Bill dying in her arms, and Alcide accusing her of unfaithfulness from the grave. Those morbid thoughts were enough to drive her out of bed, into the shower then off to Jason's house for a talk. She stopped to check her mailbox along the way and found two envelopes, one addressed to herself and one to Jessica. Figuring they were from Eric, she put them in her purse and decided to deal with them later.

After getting to know Jason's "friend" Brigitte, she woke her brother up with a nice hot cup of coffee, which always did the trick. She filled him in on what Bill had asked of her, how she responded, and a vague recounting of her conversation with Eric.

"Wow, Sook. That's a lot to take in before I've even gotten outta bed. I hope you're not askin' me for advice because I ain't got any," Jason said, rubbing his eyes.

"Not advice. Just your opinion," she clarified.

"My opinion? I think Bill means well. I think he wants what's best for you and you know he's from a different time where men did shit like that."

"I know, but it's not like he time-traveled from there to here. He's lived in this world the whole time and hasn't figured out that things change."

"Yeah, that's true. But he's dyin', Sook. Give him a break."

"So you're saying I should do what he's asking me to do?"

"Hell no. Not if you don't wanna. If you don't wanna give up your powers, that's your decision to make. But I don't think you should avoid him just because he wants what he thinks is best for you, even if he's doin' the wrong thing. He loves you. You love him."

"I'll think about that. But Jase, it's hard because he's going to let himself die because of me. How fucked up is that?"

"I don't think it's all about you, no offense. I think Vampire Bill's got a lot of shit in his head that ain't sittin' right with him now he's sick."

Sookie paused at that, and suddenly she remembered her conversation with Bill the previous night, when he'd mentioned his family and wanting to be with them and how everyone is supposed to live their time, then die. Bill never wanted to be turned, never wanted to leave his family. He'd had over a hundred years to suffer that pain. Maybe he was being truthful about only doing this for Sookie's own good, or maybe he was using her as an excuse for a choice that wouldn't make a whole lot of sense otherwise. More likely it was both. She had another flashback to Godric's eyes on the roof of that building in Dallas. How comforted he was in the end to have her there with him. Maybe Bill really was just ready to go.

While she was thinking about this, she and Jason got calls from Hoyt and Jessica, which she found to be a bit tacky since they knew Brigitte was staying with Jason, but she wasn't going to comment on that. She just took Jessica's call.

"Sookie, Bill told me not to bother you but I really don't have anyone else to go to. I was wondering if you have a white dress I could borrow?"

Two hours later, she and Jason were at Bill's mansion, helping Jessica and Hoyt prepare for their wedding. Sookie was quietly fuming. On one hand, her revelation at Jason's house was still heavy on her heart. But on the other, how dare he? He said he was choosing to die because they could never be together as human and vampire. And the very next day he's almost forcing his vampire daughter to marry a human.

"Jessica, be honest. Do you really want this? Or are you only doing it to make Bill happy?"

"I do want this. Maybe I didn't want it now, but if it means so much to Bill and it's the last thing I can give him, then I'm okay with that."

"Hoyt feel the same way?"

"Yeah, he does."

Sookie nodded, "By the way, I need to talk to you about something. You remember what we saw when we went to the basement of Fangtasia the other night?" she asked, as loaded with intention as possible.

"Yeah…?" Jessica answered, apprehensively.

"Well, if you pretend you don't remember it and never say another word about it, there's a 5% share of Eric's new corporation in it for you. He asked me to let you know that he'll be drafting a contract for us soon. And he left these for us in my mailbox this morning," she said, pulling out the envelopes from her purse, "I expect this is them, though it seems a bit light."

They each opened their envelopes and pulled out the letter. Jessica gasped first. "Holy shit!"

"What's it say?"

"Dear Miss Hamby,

We hope that Miss Stackhouse has explained the situation to you. In return for keeping our secret, we will be sending you monthly dividends from a 5% investment in our corporation once it begins to make a profit which we don't expect to take too much longer, perhaps a year. In the meantime, please accept this advance and our sincerest gratitude. Call us should you require assistance with anything.

Sincerely,

Eric Northman and Pamela Swynford de Beaufort"

"And a fucking check for a million dollars! Sookie what the fuck are they going to be selling?"

"I can't say, if Eric wants you to know, he'll tell you. If not, just take the money and keep quiet. I know that's what I'll be doin'," said Sookie, returning her gaze to her letter.

"What's yours say?" asked Jessica.

"Check's the same. Good lord I'll never be used to seein' that many zeroes on a check," she hedged, hoping that Jess would pick up on the fact that her letter was more personal and she didn't want to share.

Jessica laughed nervously, "I know what you mean. Oh! That sounds like Arlene and Holly!"

Sure enough it was, and the two women came in, fussing over Jess and giving Sookie a moment to slip away into the dressing room to read her letter from Eric.

"Dearest Sookie,

Please don't argue with me about me advancing you money or complain that you haven't done anything. You are, even now, keeping our secret. And if our corporation were up and running you would be receiving just about this much after taxes per year. But it will not be for about a year. So this is your share for this year. And before you complain (as I know you will) about taxes, you will get the proper paperwork at the end of the year which will inform you that I withheld the appropriate amounts and you will owe nothing, same with Miss Hamby.

Now that we've got the impersonal taken care of, on to other things. I know that things are rough for you right now, but I would like to see you before Pam and I leave. I don't know how long we will be gone but we have things to arrange out of country. For your own sake it's best you don't know where. We will be leaving in one week's time. Please call me before then to arrange a time to meet. The purpose being both business and personal.

Eric"

Well, that explained nothing. But she figured she'd deal with Eric later as it was time for the wedding to start. She let Jason sit next to Bill, having only greeted him cordially when she arrived. She didn't yet know what she wanted to do about that yet. But she did watch his face throughout the ceremony. On it, she could see his pride and happiness, but also his pain and sorrow. And weariness, so much weariness.

Afterwards, while everyone was congregating, she finally found the nerve to approach Bill. "Bill, I wanna ask you somethin'. If you're so convinced vampires only bring bad things to humans, how come you talked Jessica into marryin' Hoyt?" He didn't answer, only looked away. "Or is there more to your decision than just what you think is best for me?"

He laughed, mirthlessly. "You always were more perceptive than you get credit for, even when you can't read minds." He finally met her eyes again. "Sookie, I'm tired. I have been in this world longer than I was meant to. And I've seen and done things I never wanted to. I was a good man when I was human, but I haven't been a good man in a long time. And then I met you, and I was good when I was with you, but we know how that ended. I don't want to do that to you again. And I don't want to do any of the other awful things I've done ever again. I am ready to go," he admitted quietly.

Sookie nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I stand by my decision about not using my light, because I may need that for protection some day. And I won't be the one to do it. But if you'd like to meet the sun, I would be there with you until the end."

Bill nodded this time, then pulled her close for a hug. "Sookie, I think I can accept those terms. Let me have a minute with Jessica, then we will go."

"Now? You're sure?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Yes, I am sure. Please don't alert the others. Let them think I've gone to rest, and when the time comes Jessica can tell them I passed in my rest."

"Alright Bill."

She waited for him at the door to the back yard. She stood, gazing out the window, trying to grasp what was about to happen. When she felt Bill's cool hand in hers, she knew she had to pull it together for his sake. He pulled her to him for a kiss, but a short one.

"Let us go, the longer we wait the more pain I will cause you," he said, quietly.

They walked out the door, Sookie's heart beating a mile a minute, Bill completely calm.

When it was done, Sookie wept for him on his lawn. When the sun set, Jessica joined her, Hoyt's arms around her. Sookie got up then, wiped her eyes, then walked slowly towards her house, pulling her newly re-acquired phone from her bag.

"Eric, it's me. Bill's dead. Can we meet tonight?"


	3. Chapter 3

Sookie had walked back to her house in a daze. Bill was gone. And while she had been distraught on his lawn for hours, now that she was done crying she felt like she was free. She felt like he'd made his decision and finally admitted it wasn't about her. So she could be there with him, comfort him, and allow him the opportunity for peace that she really hoped he'd get. She would miss him, but she was sure he was where he wanted to be. And the comfort she got from that brought her peace as well.

By the time Eric arrived, an hour later, she was doing fairly well. Which was clearly not what Eric was expecting when he arrived on her porch. She was curled up on a bench on the porch, gazing off into the distance of the forest that led to Bill's house, smiling contentedly into her cup of spiked hot chocolate. Eric hesitated a few paces away. "Sookie?"

"I'm okay, Eric. I'm not gonna bawl all over your shirt, if that's what you're thinkin'."

"Mostly I was concerned with how you are doing. But you say you are okay, is this true?"

"It is. I realized this morning that Bill's choice really wasn't about me, and Bill confirmed it. Honestly, it was memories of Godric that made me see it," she winced at her casual mention of Eric's maker's death, "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Go on," he said, simply.

"He was tired. He was ready to go. He'd seen too much, done too much for a soul like his. And he never stopped grieving for his human family. He wasn't suited to this life, not like you are. He couldn't let go of his past. He couldn't accept the constant change and thrive the way you and Pam do. Once I realized that, I met him halfway. I didn't kill him, but I stayed with him when he met the sun."

Eric sat down next to her and took her hand. "You are a good woman, Sookie Stackhouse."

She snorted, "I don't know about that. I still let him do it. Part of me thinks I should have fought harder."

"It is not what he would have wanted. As it was not what Godric wanted from me. In the end, you gave both of them exactly what they needed." He let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulders and they sat in silence for a long time.

Finally, Sookie remembered his letter. "You wanted to discuss something?"

"Yes. As I said, Pamela and I will be leaving the country for the time being. I wanted to present to you an opportunity. I know you have unlimited options for what you can do now, but I thought I would offer a couple of suggestions. We would like to hire you to oversee the re-haul of Fangtasia. You have the knowledge necessary to restore it and get it functioning again. You would have a vast crew of talent available to you and endless resources. But it is our hope that you would do this while we are away, so we can open when we return."

"What about Ginger? Wouldn't she be the best person, since she's been with y'all so long?"

"We feel Ginger has earned an extended, paid vacation."

"And when you say vacation…?"

"I actually mean vacation. We'll call her back in when we re-open."

"Well, that's nice of y'all," she said, because she couldn't think of anything else to say about Ginger's role in their bar.

"Will you do it?" Eric asked, ignoring her superfluous commentary.

She thought for a moment, but realized she could really use a challenge that didn't involve saving lives, finding missing people, or grieving. "Yeah, I think I'd like that. You said a couple of suggestions, though?"

"I think you have a mind for business. So I wanted to suggest going to business school. If this is something that interests you," he advised, without pause.

"What makes you say that?" she asked, perplexedly.

"I see the way you manage everything in your life. Your dealings with the various supernatural communities. You are quite adept at negotiating and peace-keeping in tense situations. It also might help you learn how to use your gift better. Learn what to do with the information presented to you."

Sookie was touched that he'd noticed this about her. Most people considered her dealings with supernatural beings a fault in her character, not a strength. Then she frowned, understanding the undertones of his last point. "Does this mean y'all want me to work for you with my telepathy?"

"Potentially, if you are willing. But more than that, if it goes well I would like to make you an associate partner, since you seem to detest the idea of not earning the money you receive. Also there are things you do not know about the politics of vampires but suffice it to say it is in shambles at the moment since the Authority was destroyed and nearly all the vampires on the planet with it. There will come a time when the attention on myself and Pamela will potentially necessitate the use of your services, as we have no intention of getting back into the politics of our own kind. But first I'd like to know if it is something you would be willing to do."

"I'll think about it. I really will. But about your bar, Eric I really don't know the first thing about how Fangtasia operates or what I'd need to do. I worked for Sam for years, and sometimes I'd fill in for him for a few days but I never ran it on my own."

"Sookie, I trust you. You know what a bar needs to function. You saw the state it was in when you visited the other day. You have good sense. You will figure it out. And I will be available for phone calls should you have any concerns. Frequent phone calls. So expect a company phone to be delivered in the morning. Now, are you agreeable to this? Because I would rather not have to waste time hiring someone else."

"Sure, but Eric, can I just ask? Why keep Fangtasia if y'all are starting a huge corporation. What's the point?"

Eric was silent for a minute, measuring his response. "There is a long and depressing, oppressive history behind Fangtasia and the business Pamela and I owned before it. Decades of tedious monotony. Then one night, a girl in a white dress walked in and changed everything. Call it nostalgia. But I've grown attached to my piece of Louisiana. And if I'm going to bring a spotlight upon myself, I'd rather bring it to a state that needs it. Our corporate headquarters will eventually reside in Shreveport. As I hope you will as well."

Sookie had nothing to say to that, and Eric seemed to sense it. "I must go now, but if you would consent to coming to Fangtasia tomorrow night we can do a walk-through and go over what I am looking for."

"Okay, I'll be there," she agreed.

"Thank you, Sookie," he replied, pressing a kiss to her forehead before getting up and walking down onto her lawn. "I will have paperwork delivered with your phone going over the terms of your contract regarding Fangtasia. Please review it before you meet us there at sundown."

And with that, he shot up into the night sky

Not for the first time, Sookie wondered if she'd bitten off more than she could chew.


	4. Chapter 4

Sookie awoke much later than usual. No job waiting for her, no pressing matters to deal with combined with the peace she'd felt after Bill's death allowed her to have the best night's sleep she'd had in a long time. She'd awoken to the sound of knocking on her door, so she quickly pulled on a robe and walked, bleary-eyed, to answer it. To her lack of surprise, it was a courier. She signed for the package and opened it to find the promised phone and contract. She put both down on the kitchen table as she set about making coffee and breakfast for herself. It felt strange to have no commitments during the day. Normally she'd find herself at work, or at a friend's house, or lately, at Bill's house. For the first time in a while she had the day to herself and had no one to answer to until nightfall.

Finally she could put it off no longer and she pulled out the paperwork Eric had sent her. It all seemed fairly straight forward. Eric would outline what he wanted when they met that evening, and she would fulfill it. She knew how to stock a bar, so that didn't worry her. She had a sense of Eric's taste when it came to the decorative theme of the club - and though she didn't agree, she could make sure it remained intact. The one stipulation that stood out for her was that she was to do no work past sunset. In fact, it specified that she must be back in Bon Temps before sunset. She frowned at this, wondering how she was supposed to communicate with Eric about issues if she couldn't work past sunset, but decided she would bring it up that evening when they met. That and the obscene amount of money he wanted to pay her, on top of what he'd already given her.

At an hour to sunset she decided she should get ready to meet with Eric and Pam in Shreveport, as it was about an hour's drive to Shreveport. By the time she arrived at Fangtasia the sun was a distant memory and she saw Pam waiting impatiently in the parking lot.

"Oh, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence. Sookie fucking Stackhouse. Won't you please join us?" Pam drawled, voice heavy with sarcasm and contempt, as Sookie got out of her car.

"Sorry, I didn't think y'all would be ready for me the second the sun went down. Don't you need to get ready, and, you know, eat?"

"You offering?" Pam asked, lasciviously.

"Not particularly."

"Too bad. It'd be nice to know what all the fuss is about. Anyway, Eric and I have been waiting here for you for an hour. So please, go inside and enlighten us on what you think you, of all people, can bring to this place."

Sookie stopped, finally getting fed up with Pam's general bitchiness toward herself, and rounded on her. "Pam, I get that you don't like me. I get that you don't think I deserve Eric's attention. But what the fuck have I ever done to you personally to make you hate me so much? Because I can't figure it out, and if we're supposed to be workin' together, I can't do it if you're gonna attack me at every turn."

"Look at you, growing a backbone. Not that I really want to share, but Eric has asked that I try to be civil to you. No, I don't fucking like you. You've put my maker in danger more times than I can count, and then you slapped him in the face by choosing Compton over him every single time. Even when you were together, you never gave him a chance once he got his memories back, not for a second. Even when he's always been there for you, ready to die if need be. No regard for his own safety or mine. That enough of a reason for you sweetheart?"

Sookie was taken aback, not the least because of Pam's candidness, but also because of how much of that was what had been going through her own head not two nights ago. "Thank you for being honest, Pam. You're right about a lot of things, things I've been aware of for a while now. Not to say Eric hasn't done anything to earn some of it, but still. The one thing you can't blame me for, though, is Eric's choices. No one tells Eric what to do, you know that better than anyone."

Pam smirked very slightly. "Well, don't start thinking we're buddies now. I still don't like you."

"I don't like you either. But to be fair, we don't know a thing about each other. Let's go in. I know Eric doesn't do 'patient' very well."

The smirk on Pam's face grew marginally. "After you, princess."

Eric had a matching smirk on his face when they entered his office, and Sookie got the feeling he heard their entire conversation. "Good evening, Miss Stackhouse," Eric greeted, his voice professional but his eyes playfully mischievous. "Thank you for joining us. Pam, that will be all for now. I will alert you when we are ready to begin the tour."

Pam rolled her eyes, but left the office.

"Sit, please," Eric said, gesturing towards the small couch. Somehow she didn't think that was a good idea, with the mood he seemed to be in. So she took a seat in one of the simple desk chairs instead. This only made Eric smirk again as he took a seat on the couch, stretching out exaggeratedly as if advertising how comfortable the couch was, attempting to entice her to change her mind. She was not unaffected, but remained where she was. "So, Miss Stackhouse. Have you reviewed the terms of our contract?"

"Yes. Everything seems fine, except for one thing, well two things. The first, what's with the not working at night? How am I supposed to get in touch with you?" she asked, frowning.

"While I cannot tell you where we will be going, I can tell you the time difference will be sufficient enough that it will be evening for us when it is early afternoon for you. This will not be a problem."

"Okay, but why do you not want me to work after dark? The club will only be open at night, so I should know what it's going to look like."

"We can work that out when you get farther along," he dismissed, then paused, deciding how he wanted to phrase his next thought. "Sookie, with Pam and I gone you no longer have any sort of reliable supernatural protection in the area."

Sookie pondered that momentarily and realized he was right. What with Bill and Alcide's deaths, Sam moving away, and her ability to get in touch with Niall being limited. "But there's Jessica, James and Keith," she voiced out loud.

"They have other priorities. While I believe they would come to your aid should you require it in Bon Temps, that would not do any good for you here in Shreveport, as they would not have time to get to you should anything happen here. Which is why I would prefer it if you were in Bon Temps past nightfall. The last groups of vampires and humans to occupy this bar were highly dangerous. I will hire heavy security during the day, this is non-negotiable. But there could be vampires passing through at night, looking in on the club. I don't want them to find you there, security or not."

Sookie meant to protest, but she remembered what Bill had said when he'd asked her to use up her light. Though she didn't agree to do it, she could agree now to his point about it making her a target to vampires. Eric was watching her carefully, waiting for her to interject, but she wisely closed her mouth and just nodded.

Eric's eyebrow rose in surprise. "No arguments, then?"

"No. You're right, I suppose."

"Mmm, could you say that again? It's such a rare treat coming from you," Eric teased.

Sookie just rolled her eyes. "The other thing I wanted to talk about is the salary. Eric, I assumed you wanted me to do this for what you'd already paid me. This is too much."

Now Eric rolled his eyes. "Sookie, the two are unrelated. The check was an advance for your share of the company, as I told you. This is a salary as compensation for a service you will be providing."

"But there is no company yet, so that's bull. How 'bout a compromise. I'll take the money for the work I'll be doing for you if you take back the check." Eric made to interrupt her, but she held up her hand, "I'm not saying I won't accept the 5% you offered me, but I'll take it when the company actually starts to make money."

Eric looked at her shrewdly for a long time. "You really do need to consider business school. If you would consent to work for us after, I would gladly pay for it. Think about this, please. As to your compromise, against my better judgement, I will agree to your terms with two caveats. A 20% increase in the salary, as I believed you would be accepting the other money when I set it. And you agree to a company car and gas card. Shreveport is a long drive from Bon Temps and I would prefer to know you are safe."

Sookie thought about it for a minute, then decided that seemed fair. "As long as the car doesn't have a GPS tracker, we have a deal." She had to laugh at his expression. As she thought, that had been his plan exactly. Eventually he laughed too, and she caught a hint of pride in his eyes before he got up.

"Very well, Miss Stackhouse. You drive a hard bargain but I agree to your terms. Let's go to Pam, she must be bored by now and a bored Pam is never a good thing."


	5. Chapter 5

Her verbal spar with Eric left Sookie feeling much more confident about the task ahead. She followed he and Pam around the bar, reading over the list of improvements they both wanted, occasionally taking pictures on her phone to reference later. Pam gave her a bored run-through of inventory, hiring procedures, staff responsibilities and vendors.

"Two things," Sookie interjected, "One, hiring. Should that really be something you want me to do? I've done hiring for Sam before but I knew what he was looking for. Y'all run a whole different game around here."

"She's right, Eric. If I'm forced to be around these humans, I at least want a say in who they are," agreed Pam, looking at Sookie in a non-displeased way for maybe the first time ever.

Eric thought for a moment, then nodded. "You can set up a camera for the interviews, we'll supply you with a list of questions and we will review the tapes and make a decision. You may use whatever you gain through your telepathy at your own discretion, but understand we are not asking you to do so if you do not wish to. Your other concern, Sookie?"

She was pleased he was phrasing it that way. He would no doubt prefer that she did, but leaving it up to her was a nice change from being summoned against her will to do so in the past. She moved on to answer his question,"I wanna call around on some of your vendors. I think I can save you a good amount of money."

Pam raised a mildly appreciative eyebrow. "Your breather is growing on me," she said as an aside to Eric, then turned and walked away.

"You are learning that money is the key to my dear Pamela's heart, Sookie. Keep it up, and she might just tolerate you soon," Eric teased, placing his hand on the small of her back to guide her forward on their list of things to go over for the night.

Sookie laughed at that, but it turned into a frown as they passed the entrance to the basement. "Is…" Eric interrupted her by shaking his head sharply, and she gathered he'd understood she was about to ask about Sarah Newlin and didn't want to talk about it. She changed tactics, "What do you want done with the basement?"

"Nothing. Pamela is taking over the basement space when we get back, and will coordinate it all at that time. There is nothing down there, so feel free to use it as storage if necessary while we are gone."

Sookie took that to mean that they would be taking Sarah with them wherever they were going and wisely left it at that. "So, was there anything else you wanted to go over, or are we done?"

"Come back to my office, there is one last thing," he said, almost sounding hesitant.

Whatever it was, Sookie was pretty sure she wouldn't like it. She let him lead her back into his office, but once again took the desk chair. This seemed to lighten his mood a bit as he resumed his seat on the couch. "Sookie, won't you sit by me? I promise I won't bite," he drawled, grinning as he held his hand out to her imperiously.

Sookie rolled her eyes, but got up with a sigh and took the seat next to him, ignoring his hand. He moved it to place an arm across the back of the couch, effectively around her shoulders. They'd sat like this the night before, but the mood was decidedly less charged than at the moment. It wasn't as though she was unaffected by him, far from it. But two of her lovers had died in the same week, and she'd slept with them both in the same week. This thought sobered her up and made her scoot farther away from Eric.

He seemed to understand what was going through her head, and adjusted his posture so he was turned towards her, arm propped on his side of the couch. "I apologize for making you uncomfortable, Sookie. I was merely having a bit of fun, I know you are going through a lot and I realize now is not the time."

"Thank you, Eric. What did you want to talk about?"

This time when he reached for her hand, she let him take it. "Sookie, you will not like what I'm about to ask of you but I truly would not ask it if I didn't think it were important, please understand this," he implored, looking her straight in the eye.

"Go ahead," she allowed.

"I believe we should exchange blood before I leave."

"What! Why? Eric I'm Hep-V positive and you only just got cured, I don't want you going through that again."

"Sookie I am now immune. And I believe you would be cured too if you drank my blood. I also do not want to leave you without a lifeline, which this bond would be while we are apart. It would not cause you any discomfort or inconvenience, but it would allow me to sense that you are well and not worry. Which would be a relief, and allow me to focus easier."

"But the dreams!" she exclaimed, then clamped her hand over her mouth, mortified.

Eric tried to reign in his pleased smile, but didn't quite succeed. He quickly schooled his features and replied, "I do not believe that would be an issue. I have surmised that this side effect tends to be limited to the first exchange."

"Oh," was all Sookie could manage, her face bright red, avoiding eye contact with him at all costs.

"Sookie, really, considering everything that has happened between us since then, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Please look at me." She finally glanced up and met his eyes, noticing his gaze softening to a much more tender look. "There you are," he said softly, smiling slightly. "Please do this for me, give me this small comfort of knowing you are well while we are separated for so long? I swear I will not use it against you in any fashion."

She broke his gaze, looking down as she thought. She appreciated the growth in their relationship by him asking her, rather than manipulating her into doing this. And she appreciated his openness with his intentions. Finally, she decided there was no harm in it and nodded. "All right, Eric. If it will help you."

He gave a small smile, then reached to pull her into what he hoped was a friendly hug, so as not to put her off. He pulled back after a moment. "Thank you. I think this would be easiest," he said, turning her so her back was to him. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

He bit into his wrist, then placed it in front of her. He kept his torso apart from hers, clearly trying to tamp down his body's natural reaction to her mouth on his wrist, drinking his blood, as he didn't want to scare her away. When he felt she'd had enough to suit their purposes, he pulled back and his wrist healed quickly. He then brushed her hair off of her right shoulder, leaning close to her ear to whisper, "Is this okay?" She tried, unsuccessfully, to suppress a shiver.. She could only nod, so he leaned down further to her neck and bared his fangs.

Sookie felt his hand run through her hair, then his lips placed a gentle kiss on her neck, before she felt the sharp stings of his fangs penetrating her skin. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as much as it had with Bill, or even with Amnesia Eric (and especially Eric pretending to use her with Russell Edgington). She barely felt the sting before he withdrew his fangs and drank deeply, one time, and stopped. She felt a shiver from him this time while he tried to suppress his enjoyment.

"Thank you, Sookie. As usual, you taste magnificent. But I thank you more for the comfort this will give me while I am away. I would like to drive you home, now. Are you agreeable to this?"

"But Eric, I drove myself here."

"I am aware, but I would still like to see you home. I will have your car returned in the morning."

"All right," she accepted, surprising both of them with her easy acquiescence.

The ride back to Bon Temps was surprisingly peaceful and calm. Eric had taken her hand as they had exited Shreveport, and she found herself falling asleep on his shoulder. She was awoken by his soft voice informing her that he could not take her inside, as he no longer had an invitation. "Eric Northman, you are invited into my home," she murmured, sleepily.

He carried her to her room and laid her gently on the bed, placing a soft kiss onto her forehead before turning to leave. "Sleep well, Sookie Stackhouse," he said huskily, before disappearing. She fell asleep immediately and dreamed of nothing unpleasant for the first time in a long time.

That is not to say she did not dream. She awoke shortly before dawn after an intense dream about Eric. She gasped for a moment, recalling the events of her dream. Then reached for her phone, which Eric had dutifully plugged into the charger by her bed before departing, and sent him a text message.

"_**You were wrong about the dreams.**_"

She had expected to not hear from him until the following night, and was therefore surprised when her phone chirped almost immediately after she set it down.

"_**I would say I am sorry to have been wrong in my assumptions, but that would make me a liar. I hope it was pleasant. x E**_"

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the smile on her face, which disappeared when her phone chirped again not even three minutes later.

"_**Dear One, we had anticipated leaving in three days' time, but outside factors have necessitated a more expedient departure. Pam and I must leave immediately. I am very sorry to leave you so abruptly. But know that you are in my heart, always. And after tomorrow, I am only a phone call away. We will talk when I arrive at my destination. Keep dreaming sweet dreams, for me. x E**_"

Sookie felt like her heart was breaking, once again. But it was too early in the morning and with too little sleep to feel too deeply, and she found herself falling back into slumber within minutes.

When she awoke, she found three things waiting for her. A bouquet of her favorite flowers on her porch, with an accompanying letter, her car returned, and a brand new sports car sitting in her driveway.


	6. Chapter 6

Sookie promptly ignored the sports car, deciding to bring the flowers and the letter in first. The letter was in a large, bulky envelope which she placed on the kitchen table while she put the flowers in a vase. She then sat down to read whatever Eric had left for her. She opened the envelope and found a set of keys, a title, and a brief note that the registration would be in the mail soon. Then there was a letter from Eric.

"Dear One,

I hope you like the car, as it will be your new company vehicle. Don't argue with me about the title, it is easiest to have everything in your name. And honestly I do not have time to fight about it right now, though I am open to arguments at a later date.

As I said, Pam and I have had to leave the country a lot sooner than we thought we would. I can give you more details when I call, but for now it's best that they not be on paper, even if I have your property being guarded at all times. I will call when I am first able to do so. Stay in the house, answer the door for no one but Lafayette during the day, and James in the evening. I will explain everything when it is safe to do so. Trust me on this, please. Your safety is my number one concern.

Yours,

Eric"

There was a knock at the door as Sookie finished reading the letter, causing her to jump and drop it on the table. She picked it up and tucked it into her robe before grabbing her shotgun on the way to the door, peering out on to the porch. Thankfully, it was only Lafayette. She opened the door, feeling relieved.

"Lafayette, thank God. I just got Eric's letter and I'm freakin' out. What's goin' on?"

Lafeyette eyed the shotgun with approval before answering. "Hookah, I wish I knew. We got a call from blondie at 3 in the motherfucking morning saying we needed to keep an eye on you for the next few days. Wherever they is, it must be pretty fuckin' far away because his dead self is awake in the afternoon and telling me to get my black ass over here to find out why you isn't answering your damn phone."

"What? My phone hasn't been ringing."

Lafayette just raised an eyebrow, "You might wanna go check?" She turned and went upstairs, Lafayette trailing behind her. "Seriously Sooks, what the hell's he got you doin' now?"

"He's just protecting me. He thinks now that Bill and Alcide are dead and Sam's gone, there's no one left but him to look out for me."

"Like yo' cute little fairy self needs a man to protect you," Lafayette interjected, rolling his eyes.

"Well, it's the fairy part that makes it more dangerous to be honest. Besides, I think this is a temporary thing, but something I can't talk about, sorry."

"Hey, no complaints here. I done had enough with this vampire shit."

"Hope you're not tellin' that to James," she replied saucily.

"Now, you know there be exceptions to everything. Now hurry up before his ass calls me again. He a grumpy motherfucker when he worried about you."

They had reached Sookie's room and she made a bee-line for her nightstand. Sure enough, she had over 20 missed calls from Eric and a handful of text messages. "What the fuck? The volume's off. Shit. Okay, Lafayette, you can probably go. I'm gonna call him now."

"Nuh uh, sweet thang. My ass be stayin' right here til the big bad blonde tells me I can leave."

Sookie rolled her eyes and re-dialed Eric's last missed call. He answered almost immediately. "Sookie! Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you for an hour and a half."

"I've been here, I must have turned the sound off on my phone. I'm sorry. What's up?"

"You need to gather some supplies for about two days worth of time and retreat down to my 'cubby,' as you like to refer to it, and lock it with the code you'll see when you close the doors from the inside. As soon as we land, things are going to get ugly. For us, and for you possibly. I built that space in your home not only for me to use, but for you to use in an emergency. Take your phone, computer and chargers down with you. There is a small bathroom for you to use behind a hidden wall, the button is on the wall behind the ladder. Once you are inside, there is another button on the wall by the lamp, that will open a panel which has access to a security network with monitors for cameras around the house and property. Before you ask, the only way to access that footage is from inside that room, and as you know I've never been in that room with my memories intact so you will be the first one to turn the cameras on. There are basic food rations stored in the drawers under the bed, and water in the bathroom but bring anything else you think you'll need while you are down there. I don't anticipate this lasting any longer than a couple of days but I cannot predict everything."

To say Sookie was overwhelmed was an understatement. "Eric, what's going on? You didn't mention anything last night and now you've left the country and are sending me into a panic room for two days? What the fuck?"

"I know, and I'm sorry. If I had the time right now I would tell you everything but we will be landing in a little more than an hour and I have much to do, as it will be dawn where we are going shortly after that. Promise me you will do this, and call me to verify you have the security monitors up and running before I go to ground for the day? I will explain everything when it is safe to do so, I swear."

Sookie rubbed her temples, but knew there was nothing to do but what he was asking of her. "Fine. I'm real frustrated, but I know you wouldn't be asking me to do this if it weren't important. I'll call you back within the hour."

"Thank you Sookie. Please tell Lafayette the same and give him your keys for both cars. I'm having a couple of associates come by to move your cars off of the property so it does not appear as though you are home. Once he's delivered the keys, he is free to go."

"Tell him yourself, I'm not a messaging service," she retorted, handing the phone to Lafayette. She turned to pull out a suitcase and start gathering some clothes, then went into her bathroom to gather some toiletries. As she came back out, Lafayette was hanging up the phone, smirking.

"He says to tell you it was nice talking to Fairy Sookie, whatever that means."

Sookie could only laugh, remembering their conversation in her kitchen, ages ago. She had been so angry with him, but he always found a way to make her laugh even when she was furious with him. Leave it to him to use that conversation to make her laugh now. She took what she'd gathered from her room and they went downstairs. She grabbed her keys by the door and went into the kitchen where she'd left the keys to the new car. She sighed, "You're gonna get to drive that thing before I am."

"What, that little sex-machine in front is yours?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, long story. I'm gonna get some things from in here, then I'll head down. If you wanna go wait for whoever Eric is sending, you can."

"Okay, Sooks. You call me if any shit goes down. Mind you, my ass ain't coming over if it happens during the day, but I'll have James come check in on you when the sun goes down. But you call no matter what, you hear?"

"I will. Thanks, Lafayette."

"Bitch, please. You's about the only family I got left. We gotta look out for each other. Speaking of which, you want me to tell Jason anything?"

"No. No sense in worryin' him, besides I think he might have a good thing goin' with that friend of his. I don't wanna mess it up by dragging him into this."

"Aight, well I'mma be outside but you had best be locked away before I leave," he pulled her into a hug. "You just remember to call me."

"I promise," she said, returning his hug heartily. "Thanks again, Lafayette."

He just nodded, eyebrows raised, before heading out the front door.

It took Sookie six trips to get all of the things she wanted to take with her down into the cubby. Eric hadn't built it for ease of access, but that was understandable, considering its purpose. When she finally got the last of it loaded down into the room, she closed the external door, then turned to the panel on the side to input the code that would lock it. To her surprise, a concrete divider slid down in place between her and the external door, effectively blocking the entrance. Satisfied, she climbed down and prepared to settle in for what would most likely turn out to be a lengthy wait for nothing to happen.

First thing, she hit the button Eric had said would open up the bathroom, just to make sure it was there. It was. It was simple, but had a toilet, a sink and a shower stall. Next she went to find the button he said would set up the security system. After she pressed it, a panel in the wall opened up to reveal a bank of monitors, covering her front door, kitchen door, living room, the entrance to the cubby, and exterior shots of the house, and one facing out from the house onto the driveway. On this she could see Lafayette talking to two young men she didn't recognize, giving them her keys. They wasted no time getting in her cars and driving away, while a car she hadn't seen before followed them. She assumed it was the car they'd arrived in. Next she saw Lafayette, who'd kept the rest of her keys on her main key chain, approach the front door and lock it before getting into his own car and driving away.

She pulled out her laptop, as she had a suspicion, then pulled out her phone and dialled Eric.

"Sookie."

"Eric. I'm sealed into the cubby. Those guys came and got my cars, and Lafayette locked up before he left. Now can you please tell me what's going on?"

"I do not have time, we will be landing soon and I will have to hustle to get to ground before the sun comes up."

This is what Sookie had been hoping he'd say. While she was by no means computer savvy, she knew how to use Google and typed in 'Where is the sun coming up right now?', which brought up a Day and Night World Map. She clicked on it and reviewed the map quickly. "So I'm going to guess you're in Japan?"

His silence told her everything she needed to know about the look that was on his face. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Come on, Eric. Any idiot can use the internet to find out where the sun is coming up at next. So I'm gonna guess this little emergency has something to do with your guests?"

"Yes. The organization we are dealing with is a lot bigger than just the envoy we had in Shreveport. Pam and I were visited by members of their contingency plan this morning, which is what prompted our departure. A couple of hours ago, our sources revealed that other members were aware of you and what you know, which is why you need to hide. We believe them to be contracted to the corporation our main visitor owned. If we can sever this contract, they will leave. They are mercenaries and if we can take away their monetary incentive, they will no longer be interested in pursuing this matter."

"Well, fuck me," she said, quietly.

"Gladly, were I there," Eric muttered, but without feeling.

She glanced back up at the monitors. "Shit."

"What is it?"

"Two cars just pulled up in front of the house."

"Anyone you recognize?"

"No. A bunch of them are getting out now."

"How many?"

"Looks like ten, all Japanese."

Eric swore. "Stay on the line."

Sookie watched as they looked around the driveway, then she watched on the various external cameras as six of them circled the house, standing guard as four approached the front door. They tried the handle, but it was locked. She watched in horror as they picked the lock and opened the door.

"Eric, please tell me this cubby is soundproof?"

"Why?"

"Because they're in the house," she whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

"Fuck. Yes, the cubby is soundproof, considering what I had expected us to do in there, and I wasn't wrong, I made sure of it. But that's beside the point. What are they doing?"

"Looking for me, it seems like. You didn't put any cameras upstairs, so I can't see. Thanks for that though."

"You're welcome. Are they all upstairs?"

"No. One is posted by the front door and some of the ones from outside are coming to help search. Eric, they're coming closer to the cubby. They can't get in, right? Even if they open the cabinet, there's no way they can get in?"

"No. I made sure of this. Vampires are very careful about their resting places and I built that room with both of us in mind. Even if they open it, when you typed in the pass code you triggered a fake set of shelves to come down while the cement barricade came down on your side. It will look just like the inside of an armoire."

"Good, because they're opening it now," she whispered, unnecessarily.

"Our plane is touching down, I will need to go to rest. Know that no matter what, they cannot get in and you are going to be okay. They will likely wait there, thinking you are not there. So do not be too afraid. They cannot touch you where you are."

"Okay, you should go then. You need to focus."

"Yes, though I do not want to. When the sun sets here, I will be taking care of the problem so you will not hear from me unless I hear from you stating that there is a problem. Stay where you are and do not alert anyone to your position. By sunup tomorrow I will have the issue taken care of. Please keep your phone volume on, as I will call you again as soon as I can."

"Okay, but Lafayette asked me to call him if anything went down, I swore I would. Should I tell him to keep people away from my house?"

"Yes, I believe that is the best course of action. As long as they think you are not there, they will likely just linger waiting for you. So it is best you keep others from approaching."

"I'll call him after I get off the phone with you."

"Thank you, Sookie."

"Hey, it's my own damn fault I'm in this mess. If I'd just let you come to me the night after that night I saw you were cured, I wouldn't be in danger. So really I should be thanking you."

Eric paused over the phone, "Where has this mature woman come from? I quite like her…"

Sookie rolled her eyes, "Let's just say without Bill here to cloud my judgement, things make a bit more sense."

"Yes, well we shall have to investigate that further when I get back. Until then, we are landing now so I must go. Be safe," he paused, his voice dropping in volume and octave, "Please."

"I will, Eric. I promise. I'll text you updates while you're asleep."

"Thank you," he said, quietly The line cut after that, she assumed he couldn't say anymore and had to get off the plane.

She watched on the monitors as the men opened the armoire and found nothing but shallow shelves. They closed it again and continued searching the house. Eventually they settled into the living room, believing her not to be there, and waited.

She dialed Lafayette's number on her phone next.

"Sooks, what it do?"

"There are men at my house, they don't know I'm here. But I wanted to let you know not to come here. And if possible, make sure no one else comes here. As long as they think I'm not here, everything should be fine. Eric's taking care of everything else, so it should be okay in a couple of days. If they find where I am, I'll call you. But for now, I'm okay."

Lafayette sighed, "Sooks, you need a long ass motherfuckin' vacation when this shit is done."

"Sure, and I'll have Eric pay for one when he gets done. Until then, just, I dunno, spread the word that I'm out of town or whatever so no one comes by here. I don't trust these fuckers not to get trigger happy if anyone comes to the door."

"Sure thing, Sooks. You keep us posted, though."

"Will do," she hung up the phone, settling in to wait her unwanted guests out. She watched them for several hours go through her house, evaluating every nook and cranny for a potential hiding place, finding none. Until one of them came back into the den, evaluating the armoire once more. He stared at it from the outside for a while, before opening the doors and looking at the shelves again, obviously realizing how shallow the shelves were compared to the armoire. He started breaking the shelves and tearing at the wood to find out what was behind it. When he found the concrete barrier, he called out to the others. They gathered around, and Sookie reluctantly picked up her phone realizing it was past sunset.

"Lafayette, can I talk to James?"

"Sure, Sooks, hold on."

"This is James."

"James, has Lafayette filled you in?"

"Of course, Sookie. What is the matter?"

"They know where I'm at. They're going to try to get in."

"I see. You are in the well-hidden armoire, yes?"

"You knew about that?" she asked, surprised.

"Of course. Vampires are always aware of places to hide. What do you need? Do you need me to come kill them all?"

"No offense, James, but they were trained against vampires, I don't know that you could. Maybe you and Lafayette could come play a distraction? Asking where I am or something? Anything to get their attention off of the armoire."

"No, I will not bring Lafayette. But Jessica and Keith would come. They'd know we are vampires, but probably wouldn't hurt us. Maybe we could be looking for you and say we'll stick around until you get home. If they want to challenge us, between the three of us we could probably take them."

"Are you sure, James? I don't wanna ask this of you if it will cause you trouble."

"Eric is our Sheriff. He has already alerted us to our duty in his area to keep you safe. We will do so because we care for you, and because it is our duty. The vampire hierarchy may be in shambles, but we know who is left that still holds power."

"Okay, but if it starts to get ugly, please leave. I think my cubby can withstand most things, since Eric built it. So I'd much rather they burn my house down than cost your lives. Don't use violence unless absolutely necessary, please."

"Sookie, I appreciate your concern, but we will do whatever is necessary to ensure your safety, while also ensuring our own. Should we succeed, and you are alive we will have that as comfort, but also Eric will reward us greatly. We are happy to do this. I must go, we will be there soon."

The line went dead and Sookie called Eric's number, just to keep him posted. It went to voicemail as she knew it would, "Eric, they know where I am. James, Jessica and Keith are on their way. I'll call again as soon as I can."


	8. Chapter 8

Sookie watched helplessly as the men stared at the concrete shield blocking the entrance to the cubby. She desperately wished she could hear what they were saying, but realized it probably wouldn't do any good, since they were likely speaking Japanese. She looked at the monitors and the controls anyway, and thankfully found what looked like a speaker icon, similar to her computer. She turned up the volume, internally thanking Eric for his paranoia as she could hear the men above her now. As she suspected, they were speaking Japanese, but it would help when the others got here.

Within a few minutes, a car pulled up on the outside monitor and parked next to the mens' cars. She watched as James, Jessica and Keith got out of the car, surprised to see Keith take the lead, not James. Then again, she was pretty sure Keith was the oldest, so maybe that made sense. They strode up to the porch at human speed, acting for all the world as if nothing were bothering them. She watched as Keith pulled out what looked to be the keys she gave to Lafayette earlier and went to unlock the door.

When the men in front of her cubby had heard the car approach, one of them gave brisk directions to the rest, who seemed to have disappeared throughout the house, taking with them the debris from the armoire. The two that stayed behind quickly closed the doors as best they could and moved closer to the front door, hands on their weapons.

Sookie watched as the front door opened and Keith peered cautiously into the room, spotting the two intruders. "Hello gentlemen. Care to explain what you're doing in Miss Stackhouse's home while she is out of town?"

"Out of town?" replied one of the intruders.

"Well, yes. By now you've noticed that her car isn't here, and as I'm sure you noticed when you went through the house, there are obvious signs that she has packed some of her things. She will be gone for a couple of days," Keith replied, smoothly.

"Why are you telling me this?" asked the man, appraising Keith with a calculating look.

"Miss Stackhouse asked us to keep an eye on her home while she is away. She said people may come looking for her and she didn't want her home destroyed if they did." Keith paused here, looking at the obvious signs of abuse the armoire had taken, "I see her fears were not without merit."

"I do not believe you. There is a concrete barrier in this cupboard, I believe she is hiding behind it," the man said, opening the door to the armoire.

"As you must already be aware, Miss Stackhouse keeps acquaintance with several local vampires. As a very hospitable woman, she likes to have a place in her home for them to rest, should they need to. This is not uncommon," James replied.

"If the girl is not here, where is she?"

"This I do not know, as we did not think it wise to know where she was going for this very reason. But we could call her, prove she is not here," supplied Keith.

Sookie's heart rate shot up as she scrambled to pull out her cell phone and turn down the volume. Even though she knew they couldn't hear, she couldn't help but remember in horror movies where the cell phone ringing gets some idiot killed. She watched as Jessica pulled out her phone and dialled her number, and her phone lit up. She waited two rings and answered, breathlessly saying,"Hello?"

"Sookie, it's Jess. We're at your house and there are some men that want to talk to you, to prove you aren't here."

Sookie noticed Jess shoot a warning look at the camera nearest her before she responded. "Are they Japanese? With scary looking weapons?" she played along.

"Sure are. Wanna tell us what this is about?" Jess asked, feigning ignorance. Sookie hoped Jess had put two and two together with what she'd told her about the money they were receiving, and what it was for. But maybe she really didn't know why they were there. This would probably be better.

"Not particularly. Put 'em on," she said, resolutely.

"Miss Stackhouse," one of the men said into the phone.

"Yeah, and who the hell are you?"

"We are associates of Eric Northman, he sent us here to speak with you about a recent trip you made to his bar," the man said. Sookie noticed Jessica's eyes widen a bit at this, but it passed quickly.

"Like hell you are. Eric was the one who told me to run. Try again," Sookie retorted.

"Where are you?" he asked, rather than come up with another cover story.

"And why the fuck would I tell you that?".

"Because we have your associates, three young vampires by the looks of them, surrounded in your house and if you do not, we will kill them."

Sure enough, the men who had dispersed throughout the house earlier had been working to surround the room and Sookie could see them outside of the house and in the living room and entryway facing where Keith, Jess and James were standing. Judging by the looks on their faces, none of them were surprised by this turn of events and likely heard all the men moving into place. This calmed her, as she could tell they obviously didn't feel endangered. She played her part once again, "You asshole, let them go! They have nothing to do with this!" she shouted, to buy herself some time while she pulled up a map on Google and picked a random location.

"I will let them go if you tell us where you are."

"Fine! I'm in California," she said, following a freeway line on the map, "I flew into San Francisco this morning and I've been driving ever since. I'm at a hotel in Lake Tahoe now."

"This is not possible, as we have checked all flights for your name, we would have known if you'd boarded a flight," he said, frowning.

"Please, I'm friends with Eric Northman, you really think I couldn't find out how to get on a plane without anyone knowin' about it?"

"Which hotel are you at?" the man demanded.

"Not part of the deal. I will stay where I'm at and if you let my friends go and leave my house, you can call me when you reach California and I will tell you exactly where I am, and you can call the hotel to confirm it. Deal?"

"We will leave men at your home, in case this is a ruse, but we will let your friends go," the man countered.

"Fine by me, but they stay outside. I'll know if they don't, I've got eyes on my house 24/7," she added.

"Agreeable. We will be in touch soon," with this he ended the call, writing down the number before tossing the phone back to Jessica. "You are free to go. We will be leaving now to find Miss Stackhouse. You will not harm the men we leave behind or her life is forfeit." He then switched back to Japanese and began barking orders at the rest of the men. Eight of them piled back into the cars, leaving two to stand sentinel out front.

As soon as she had hung up, Sookie dialed a number for a random hotel in Lake Tahoe she saw advertised. "Hello? I need to make a reservation but it's a pretty strange request. Can I speak to your manager?"

There was a moment's pause as the woman who'd answered went to get the manager. An older woman answered the phone. "Hello, I'm Andrea and I am the manager. I understand you have a strange request, and I'd be more than happy to help you with this. Who am I speaking with?"

"Adele Brigant, as far as you know. I have a lot of money, and I'm prepared to pay the highest rate you have if you can help me out with a little problem I'm having. I need a room booked starting from tonight and lasting for the week and I need it under that name. My credit card will be under a different name but no one is to know about that."

"Certainly, and when will you be arriving?" Andrea asked, professionally.

"I won't be. But I need the room to be checked in as of this afternoon, and I need the lights and television to be turned on as though I'm there."

"I see," the woman said, sounding very much like she didn't, but not wanting to cause any problems.

"Some men are going to come looking for me there, and I want them to think I was there. So I'll need to know the room number to give them. If you can tell them that I checked in earlier, and ordered room service, and let them believe I left, I would greatly appreciate that. And I'd be inclined to add a very, very generous tip to any fake room service orders you want to place. I'm talking about a four digit tip, if you catch my drift."

"Certainly, Miss Brigant. I believe we can take care of this. Was there anything else I can help you with?" Andrea asked, clearly very good at her job.

"Can you recommend any hotels in Vegas that might be willing to do the same thing?"

"Absolutely," the woman replied, and Sookie could hear the smile in her voice.

It took Sookie a long time to set up her trail, and she realized she might need to take that check from Eric after all to pay for it. By the time she'd called the last hotel, in Santa Fe, she realized she should probably check in with everyone. She glanced at the monitors and saw that the two sentinels were still posted, and nothing had changed. She called Jess first.

"Hey, Sookie! Good thinking back there. I was hoping you'd pick up on what the plan was."

"Not sure I did, but I came up with one of my own. I've got a plan to lead them on a chase."

"Sookie, you are not leavin' that cubby!" Jess exclaimed, angrily.

"Relax, Jess. I'll be here the whole time, but they don't need to know that. You should probably stay away from the house, though, in case they figure it out."

"Not gonna happen, Sookie. One of us will be watching your place until Eric tells us otherwise," a male voice interjected. She realized after a moment it was James.

"Alright, alright. But just stay back, don't approach them," she countered, wearily. She realized it was very late and she was exhausted, but she knew she had much more to do. "I've got to go, I need to let Eric know what's going on and then I expect my phone will be ringing any minute when they get into California."

"Let us know if you need us," James said, before the line disconnected.

Sookie sent Eric a series of text messages letting him know what had happened, how they had dealt with it and what her plan was. Within a few minutes, she heard her phone chirp with a response.

"_**I'm very proud of you. That is something even I would not have thought to do. I'm wiring money into your bank account as we speak to cover what you've needed to spend tonight. I will not be in touch again until this is done, but do not worry, we know exactly what we are doing and you should be free by the time the sun rises here tomorrow. We will talk soon. x E"**_

She felt relieved after reading this and thought back on the day. Chuckling to herself, she remembered what Lafayette had said, and typed back a response.

"_**I'm gonna need a vacation after this. Stay safe."**_

"_**Consider it done. x E"**_


	9. Chapter 9

A few minutes later, her phone rang with a private number. "Hello?"

"Miss Stackhouse, our associates have arrived in Lake Tahoe."

Sookie gave them the information about the hotel, the fake name and which room she'd be in, and hung up. She braced herself for what would come next. Sure enough, fifteen minutes later the phone rang again. She smiled wryly and answered, "Did you really think I would just sit there and wait for you to kill me? Y'all are dumber than I thought. I've been on my way to Vegas for the last two hours. Bye."

With this, she turned off her phone. She'd left messages at the next few hotels that stated 'Did I say Vegas? I meant Phoenix,' and so forth, so she felt comfortable they'd be able to follow her fake trail from there, without her input. She finally allowed herself to rest and fell into a dreamless sleep.

When she awoke, she checked the monitors first thing. There were now six men guarding her house, but as far as she could tell there were still none in the house. She turned her phone back on and saw that she had only one voicemail. It was from the private number so she didn't bother with it. She had no intention to speak with them again, as she believed Eric would complete whatever it was he was doing before they reached the end of her trail. And even if not, she'd set up the fake trail so well they'd probably just keep trying. At any rate, she was reasonably sure they believed she was not at her home.

She got up, took a shower, and managed to force down some of the rations she found under the bed. By the time she settled back into the bed to wait, her phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Sookie, it's done. We are leaving Japan," Eric said, briskly.

"What? What did y'all do?"

"Blew up the building," he said, as though she should have expected that. Which really, knowing he and Pam, she should have.

"That's just so, anticlimactic," she finished, truthfully.

Eric laughed, "Only for New Sookie, full of logic and strategy skills. If we were dealing with Old Sookie you'd probably have been captured by now and we'd have to fly back to save you. I quite prefer New Sookie. Saves me a lot of time and money. Also I find her brain extremely sexy," he purred into the phone.

Sookie couldn't even find it in her to act affronted, she was just too relieved. "So you're sayin' I can go sleep in my own bed tonight?"

"Wait until the guards outside your house leave, and they will. All of the people paying them are now dead and they have no loyalties to corpses, only money."

"Well, that's good. But I feel like they're going to be mighty pissed at me for leading them on that chase."

"They'll get over it. I've offered to reimburse all of their expenses if they leave you alone, I'm certain they'll take it."

Sookie watched the monitors and sure enough, within a couple of minutes, the men standing guard outside her home received a phone call and left as swiftly as they'd arrived. "You're right, they're gone. Damn. It feels so….I dunno, easy? Are you sure they're gone for good?"

"I am certain," Eric said, amusement heavy in his voice. "You might have pissed them off, but they had a good time trying to track you down. Sookie, you are safe. We are safe. I must go, but I will be calling you when we land at our next destination. And I might as well just tell you now, as you'll no doubt figure it out soon enough, we are headed to Sweden. The time difference is seven hours ahead. And you, my dearest, are headed to somewhere warm. Pack your bags accordingly."

True to his word, Eric had arranged an all expenses paid vacation for herself, Lafayette, James, Jessica, Hoyt, Keith and Arlene. Keith and Arlene decided to stay home, as Arlene still had a lot of work to do at her bar and had the kids to think of. But the rest of them were free and swiftly en route to a resort in Mexico that catered to humans and vampires alike.

"Now this is the motherfuckin' life," Lafayette said, raising a glass to Sookie and Hoyt the following afternoon as they sat at the swim-up bar.

"Amen," agreed Hoyt. He wasn't quite sure why they were there, but he knew Jess needed time away and he was happy to comply, counting this as their unofficial honeymoon.

"Mmm, I have to agree," Sookie said, happy to be soaking up the sun.

"You tell that man of yours we's happy to be of service, if this is the reward," Lafayette added.

"I sure will, but he ain't my man," Sookie corrected.

Lafayette raised an eyebrow, "Bitch, please. Who you think you's foolin'? That man has got it hard for you and every damn one of us know it except for you. And if I may, you gots a good thing goin'. Don't rock that boat, sweetheart."

"You're only sayin' that cuz he paid for this trip," Sookie grumbled.

"Nuh uh, pretty girl. That man loves you. You just ain't figured that out yet."

"Sookie, I think he's right. Now, I don't know too much about y'all, but I do know what people do for the one they love. And from what Jess has said about what went down at your house, he wouldn't have done that if he didn't love you," Hoyt weighed in.

"Yeah he would, he feels obligated to protect me since Bill and Alcide died. He doesn't think there's anyone else to look after me."

"Don't try that line on me again, Sookie Stackhouse. If that was the case, why'd he call in my man, Red and Arlene's Mr. Dark and Mysterious? He know what's up. He loves you. Now you just gotta let your stubborn ass admit that you love him too, if you know what's good for ya. And his sexy blonde ass is what's good for ya."

"I just don't know if I'm ready. I mean, Alcide and Bill died in the same week. I'm like the fuckin' kiss of death. You said so yourself, Lafayette."

"Girl, you know I didn't mean all that shit. I was hurt, and I was fucked up as fucked up gets. Please don't believe that about yourself," Lafayette said, taking her hand and looking her in the eye.

"And if I can add, maybe Vampire Bill and the other guy did die, but they wouldn't want you to be alone. They'd want you to be happy, not using their deaths as an excuse not to go after what you want," Hoyt interjected.

Sookie laughed, mirthlessly, "Then you don't know Bill."

Lafayette slammed his drink down onto the table. "Enough. Hookah, you let Bill Compton run your life for far too fuckin' long. That man still controls you from the motherfuckin' grave. Enough's enough. He hated Eric cuz Eric was a rival. That's it. There ain't nothin' inherently evil about Eric Northman. And you know, I'm the last person to give Eric credit, but he ain't a bad dude, most of the time. Y'know, when he ain't lockin' me up in his dungeon and shit, and actually pays me for my services. Which he does, now, just so we's clear. You need to start realizing what feelings you have are yours, and which ones Bill influenced. I mean, no offense to Jessica's maker," he added as an aside to Hoyt, "but that man had you on a whole different fuckin' plane from reality and it's time you figured that out."

Sookie could only stare at Lafayette, knowing in her heart what he was saying was not only true, but things she'd been thinking about for a while. "I guess you're right. I was just tryin' to save face. You know how people talk about me."

To her surprise it was Hoyt that jumped in first. "Fuck what people say. Bon Temps is a fuckin' disaster zone. If they ain't got better things to talk about than your love life, then they ain't worth their weight in garbage. What's it matter what garbage thinks of you? You think people aren't gonna judge me for leaving Brigitte and marryin' Jessica the next day? Fuck 'em," he spat, finishing his beer and swimming away to order another one.

Lafayette and Sookie had their eyes widened in surprise, but Lafayette recovered first. "He ain't wrong," he said, swimming off to join Hoyt at the bar.

That night, Sookie found herself feeling empty and alone, despite the excellent company she found herself in. She pulled out her phone, counted the hours and realized it was daylight in Sweden, so she sent a text to Eric.

"_**I wish you were here."**_


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Since the show plays fast and loose with the rules of vampires being awake in the daytime, I will too… _

Sookie set the phone down with a sigh. Hoyt had retired to his and Jessica's room shortly before the sun went down, and James and Lafayette had gone to dinner with her, but were now having a date night down at one of the night clubs. Sookie had been left with the option of being a third wheel, going out alone, or going back to her room. The last option didn't appeal to her, but it was better than the alternatives so she'd bid James and Lafayette a good night and promised Lafayette she'd meet him for brunch in the morning, thanking him for his advice.

Now she was alone, and missing the one person who'd made their trip possible. Surprisingly, that person was now calling her phone.

"Eric? What are you doing awake, isn't it daytime in Sweden?"

"You didn't think I could just let that message go unanswered, did you? If so, you've seriously underestimated me," Eric's voice greeted her, sounding fully awake. "To answer your question, I am awake because we were tending to business here at our hotel while waiting for the sun to set. But it is nothing so important I cannot make time for you. Especially when you send such sweet messages to my phone."

Sookie felt herself relax at hearing his voice, even if he was on the other side of the world. It helped to hear him. "Thank you for calling," she said, quietly.

"The pleasure is mine, I assure you. I think it's beyond time for us to have a little talk, one that isn't about business or emergencies. Don't you agree? Also, you should probably go answer the door," he added, just as someone knocked from the outside.

"How did you know...? Oh, never mind," she muttered, getting up to answer the door. A room service attendant wheeled in a cart on which stood a large pitcher of margaritas and two glasses. "Eric, did you order this?"

"I might have. Since I cannot be there with you, you can have a few drinks out on your balcony while we talk and pretend that I am."

Sookie was touched once again by his thoughtfulness. "Thank you, Eric. That was real sweet," she said, switching ears on the phone so she could push the cart onto the balcony.

"You say that like you do not expect this from me?" he observed.

"That's not true! Well, I guess you kinda have a point. I have kinda always acted that way with you, haven't I?" she mused, pouring a margarita and settling into the comfortable deck chair.

"Yes," he said, simply.

"I'm sorry about that, I really am. I mean, not at first. You did kinda use me a few times," she pointed out, taking a long drink. "Mm, this is good, by the way."

"Yes, and I have apologized for this," he replied, ignoring her commentary on the drink, "I had hoped that my actions since then had helped you form a better opinion of me. It seems I was mistaken, at least until very recently."

"I know, and I've been trying to figure out why that was. My dislike and mistrust of you was a little irrational from the start."

"Only a little?" he teased, helping to lighten the mood of the suddenly intense conversation.

"Alright, very irrational," she agreed, laughing lightly.

"Do you want to know what I think?" he asked, his tone shifting back to the serious side, as though he'd been waiting to ask this question for a long time.

"Yes, please," though she didn't feel like she was ready to hear it.

"I think if you were to have met me before you met Bill Compton you would have loved me, easily. I think that his influence on you, and I have my suspicions about that as well, but it hindered you from really seeing me as myself and not as what Bill had convinced you I was. I am not saying I was without flaws when we met, but you made me try to see myself how you might see me, and try to be better, in as much as I can be. Only you never did see it."

Sookie felt like he'd taken a knife to her heart. Everything he was saying was true, and she was only realizing now how much she had hurt him. Tears ran down her cheeks while she tried to figure out what to say to this.

"Sookie?" Eric asked, concerned when she didn't answer, "Please say something?"

"I'm here, I just...I need a minute, okay?" She thought through all of her encounters with Eric over the years. True, he had done some things she hadn't liked in the earlier days, but what he was saying was true. Yes, he'd hurt Lafayette but Lafayette had been selling vampire blood. She didn't agree that it was the right thing to do, but ultimately he'd released and healed Lafayette and the only person who could hold a grudge about that was Lafayette, and he clearly didn't.

Then there was the Russell Edgington fiasco. But hadn't he apologized for that enough? And really, his worst mistake was not telling her about it and allowing her the choice - she would have done it willingly if she'd known, and she could have rescued him sooner. And hadn't he been the one to ultimately save her from Russell again and finally kill him? Then there was his high handed calling of Lorena when they were in Dallas so Bill would be distracted, but even that she couldn't begrudge as it was only another step on the path of finding out who Bill really was.

Bill. Why did she always give Bill all the breaks, but never Eric? Why did she let Bill get away with everything and still love him? Why was she always so afraid of the idea that she could, and maybe did, love Eric?

After a couple of minutes, Eric finally grew impatient and carried on his train of thought, "In the meantime, as the two sentiments run hand in hand, I'll continue and tell you my suspicions regarding Bill Compton. As you are aware, he was sent by the Queen to procure you by any means necessary. I don't say this to drag up past pain, but to point out that he formed a blood bond with you almost immediately. As you know, these do not make you feel things you don't already feel, but it does allow a skillful manipulator the ability to shape your feelings, and Bill was many other things but first and foremost he was a very skilled manipulator," he paused here, seemingly to figure out how to proceed with his line of thought without hurting her. "I cannot say what his true feelings for you were, or yours for him, and I will let you make that decision on your own. But I can say that he was set on shaping your opinions of the vampire world, to allow you to be more open to working for the Queen. To do so, I believe he tried to use fear of other vampires to make you think he alone was good and that he alone had your best interests in mind. That he alone could and would protect you, and would likely have used that fear to get you to go to the Queen if things had been different. If he'd had his way, you would never have met any other vampires, except those he deemed necessary for this task. Therefore when you had him bring you to my bar, he wanted you to dislike me before you'd even met me. So he pushed a sense of trepidation and contempt through the bond, coloring your opinion from the start. I believe he continued to do this until they were no longer his suggestions, but your mind's natural response."

Sookie was quiet for a moment; but, mindful of Eric's limited patience, said, "Like the dog with the bell," with a frown.

Eric laughed, "Yes, like Pavlov's dog."

Sookie sighed, "I think you're right. I've been tryin' to figure out for a long time why I had infinite forgiveness and blind spots for Bill, but never for you. And I just couldn't figure it out. But what you're sayin' makes sense, in a sick-fuck twisted kind of way."

Eric was quiet this time, but after a moment he asked, "Sookie, answer me this one question honestly, and we can let this go for now, move on to something else. I hate to ruin your good time with all this seriousness. But answer me this: when I got my memories back, knowing what you know now, and if Bill hadn't been in the room with us, would your answer be any different?"

"I've actually thought about this a lot over the time since then. So I can say that yes, even without knowing your suspicions, if we could go back and do it differently, without Bill being there, I would have said yes. Would have chosen you," she admitted, quietly.

He was silent for a long moment, then finally said, very quietly, "Thank you, Sookie. You have no idea what that means to me."

After a moment, Sookie asked, nervously, "Where do we go from here?"

Eric sighed, "Well, we can continue this very serious, unpleasant and painful discussion until we've rehashed everything unnecessarily, undoubtedly hurting each other's feelings in the process. Or we can agree that this is a turning point, and leave it be for now. Were I with you on that balcony, I would have kissed you by now. Alas, I am stuck in Sweden for the foreseeable future."

Sookie blushed, then decided to needle him for information, as well as change the topic since there was no where else to go with that line of thinking. "So what are y'all doin' in Sweden, of all places?"

Eric laughed, "I tell you I want to kiss you, and you change the subject? That's very Old Sookie, but I'm glad some things about you don't change, even without Bill. Pam and I have meetings with various scientists prominent in the field of synthesizing blood. Wiping out the competition has set us back to ground zero, I'm afraid. But I have faith that the scientists in Stockholm will be able to get the ball rolling and allow us to be back home soon. We'll need to set up a base of operations here, for tax reasons, and then we can focus on getting our lives back in order at home."

"That will be nice," she said, softly.

"Do you miss me?" he asked, and she could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Maybe," she played coy, "I'll have to get back to you on that."

He laughed, "And what have you gotten up to down there in Mexico?"

"Nothing too exciting. We spent the day at the pool, so I got some sun and had a nice chat with Lafayette and Hoyt."

"I'd heard," Eric said, wryly. "I owe Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Fortenberry a great deal, I believe. And I wish I could be there to see you - you always look so lovely when you've been in the sun. But go on."

Sookie blushed, but continued, "Well, Hoyt and Jessica are newlyweds and acting like it. Plus, James and Lafayette are pretty much in their own little world tonight, so it's been...well, I guess I can't really complain. I'm on a free trip to a gorgeous resort, so I'm just fine," she finished, resolutely.

Eric chuckled softly, "Sookie, you can admit that you are lonely. I should have had the forethought to invite along someone who was not in a relationship for you to spend time with."

"That's all right, you had bigger things on your mind. And honestly, you try findin' one of my friends right now who's single. It's like the whole town just suddenly paired off, it's fuckin' weird."

Eric laughed again, then added, "This is nice. This is what I miss from spending time with you at your home. Getting to talk with you without your defenses being up. You calm me," he said, openly.

Sookie was taken aback, but flattered. "You calm me, too."

"Hmm, is it me or is it the margaritas, I wonder?" he joked.

Sookie laughed, "I haven't even finished one yet, I'll have you know!"

"Well, what are you waiting for? We are pretending that I am there with you, and that we are on your balcony, drinking margaritas. You need to keep to your end of the deal, Miss Stackhouse," he teased.

Sookie got up and poured herself another margarita, then on impulse asked him to hold for just a second while she switched to camera mode on her phone, taking a picture of the moon and the lights of the resort reflecting off of the ocean. She sent it to Eric, then pulled the call back up. "Okay, check your messages. Now you can pretend you're here, too," she said with a smile.

Eric gave a choked laugh, "If I weren't a vampire, that would just look like a black picture with a white dot. Your picture taking skills need work. But I appreciate the gesture, none the less. I really do, thank you."

"Only you could insult me and flatter me at the same time," she complained, but without heat.

"It's one of my many talents," he deadpanned.

"So I thought more about your suggestion that I go back to school, and I think I want to do it," she said, after a comfortable silence.

Sookie could almost see his eyebrow raise before he responded, "Is that so? I would have thought I would have to talk you into it more."

"Don't get me wrong, I wanna pay my own way. The money I'll be making from re-hauling your bar will be more than enough to get me through a couple of semesters, and that will get me through until the company starts to make money."

Eric laughed, "I honestly wouldn't have expected you to say any differently. Your independent spirit is one of my favorite things about you. But it pleases me that you will do this. For yourself, not for me. I think you have so much potential that never really got to shine through, with the directions your life has taken. I am happy to know you will get a chance to do so now."

Sookie sighed, happily, "Me too. I'm excited to see where things are going to go, now that life seems to be settling down again."

"Never be too complacent, Miss Stackhouse. You are a trouble magnet, after all," he teased.

Sookie laughed, "Well, that's true. But I think the worst of the storm has passed."

"And what comes after the storm?" Eric asked, curiously.

Sookie paused, "I don't know. But I'm looking forward to finding out, with you."

_a/n: Just an FYI, this is not the end, far from it, but I couldn't help but work in the story title, since I left it wide open there. Call me corny. _


	11. Chapter 11

**3 Months Later**

"Eric Northman if you do not come back to Louisiana immediately I'm going to lose it!" Sookie shouted into her phone. She was pacing the parking lot of Fangtasia where, along with Eric's office, she spent as much time as possible lately, while the contractors worked inside.

"Why is that, dear one?" Eric replied over the phone, as calmly as if they were discussing the weather, not Sookie's outrage.

"Ginger has decided that three months was too long of a vacation and has started coming in everyday, second guessing every decision I make, following me around and if she's not doing that she's sitting on your damn throne, just glaring at me," Sookie complained. "I've had enough! She's not even helping, she's just criticizing. I've got enough shit to deal with now that school has started, I can't babysit her on top of it." Eric chuckled into the phone. "It's not funny! She's driving me up the wall!"

Eric just laughed more, "Sookie, I'm not laughing at you. But she has worked for us for twenty years, so I know exactly how you feel. Put her on the phone."

Sookie carried the phone back into the bar and shoved it into the blonde's hands. "Eric," she said, angrily, before stomping back to Eric's office to take a break.

After her vacation in Mexico, she'd thrown herself into the re-haul of Eric's bar with gusto. After consulting with Arlene and Sam, she'd taken to it like a fish to water. She was almost done with everything except hiring and she was going to speak with Eric about that after he finished with Ginger.

They had set their feelings for each other on the back burner, as they both knew they would be separated from each other for many months and it was too much to deal with, on top of everything else. They'd decided to pick up the conversation once Eric returned and things settled down a little.

They still spoke to each other at least once a day, more than that if there was a lot going on at the bar. She had decided to class up the ambience of the decoration, while still sticking to the basic theme of the bar, as it was a tourist attraction. But she had wanted to make it a little more elegant, for the sake of the vampires who had to put in time there, and Pam had wholeheartedly agreed.

She had begun school about a month before, and was enjoying it much more than she'd ever enjoyed school before, considering the majority of it could be done online, and not in a classroom full of people's thoughts she had to wade through just to pay attention. She was looking forward to Eric and Pam's return so she could have more time to focus on school, rather than the bar and the unwanted distraction of Ginger.

Almost as if she knew she was being thought about, Ginger opened the door to Eric's office and Sookie had to hold her temper in check to keep from yelling at her. "Eric wants to talk to you," Ginger said, sounding subdued.

"Thank you," Sookie said, as politely as she could. "Eric?"

"She will not be bothering you again. I have reminded her who her bosses are, and that I told her specifically not to return to the bar until we told her to."

Sookie breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you."

"You are most welcome. Now, did you only call to get rid of Ginger? Or did you have an update?"

Sookie smiled, "I did have an update. The last of the work has been done on the bar itself. I have the vendors lined up when we're ready to stock before opening, and at this point all that's left is hiring. Since I don't know when you'll want to open, I wasn't sure when you wanted me to line up interviews."

"Sookie, that is good news. I'm very pleased to hear how quickly you've managed this. Pam and I can be back in the country in about a month. We have a few more things to wrap up here, and I want to make sure the scientists are progressing as well as they'd said they would before we leave. I feel that our presence here motivates them to work faster, so I don't want to leave just yet. But as to hiring, you can begin to look for candidates. Pam will send you a list of requirements and necessary skills, and qualities to look for when screening. Then we will set up a time to do the interviews, which I am looking forward to. I always enjoy seeing you work your gift," he concluded, amusement evident in his voice.

"Now, I never said I would read them all. You're makin' assumptions," she tempered playfully, but they both knew she was bluffing. "But I will. Since you did ask me so nicely."

"Thank you, Miss Stackhouse," he purred, "I apologize for being presumptuous. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Oh, I'm sure you can find a way to make it up to me," she flirted back.

"I'm sure I can. In fact, I think I have. When does the work conclude at the bar?"

"I think they'll be done by the end of the week, why?" she asked.

"Do you think you can post all of the positions we're looking for before then?" he asked, instead of answering her question.

"Yes, but again, why?"

"Since your presence will not be needed at the bar until interviews begin, and you can do your schoolwork and refining the candidates from a distance, I think it would be good for you to come to Sweden for a few days. See what we've done so far, since I do intend for you to be more involved, eventually."

"I assume the part you're leaving out is so you can have me read the people you've got so far, right?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"No, Sookie. Once again, you assume the worst of me," he said gently, but sounding disappointed. "What I was actually leaving out was that mostly, I would just like to see you."

Sookie felt ashamed. She had thought she'd moved past mistrusting Eric's intentions, but apparently not quite. "I'm sorry, Eric. I spoke without thinking. I would love to visit you."

"Thank you, dear one. And so you know, that was not something I hadn't considered. But it will do no good, as they'll likely be thinking in Swedish. Which might be something you'll want to learn if you choose to continue working with us. But that's beside the point. The point is I would have asked you. I hope you know that I will never expect you to use your abilities for me without asking first."

"I know, Eric. I'm sorry."

"Accepted. Let's move on. Sweden is very cold in the winter. I want you to use your company card and go shopping before you leave, so you will have warm clothes while you are here. I'll have Pam send you a list of things you might want to bring, and where to find them. As you know, she is the one with superior insight into clothing and shopping, just ask my credit cards," he finished wryly.

Sookie laughed, "Okay. I will."

"Really? I would have thought you'd fight me on this, you hate letting me buy things for you."

"True, but since this is mostly a business trip - with the added perk of getting to spend time with you, I figure I'll let the boss pay for it. Just don't tell him," she added, playfully.

"Mmm, true, but I don't think he'll mind," he replied, "Especially if you buy yourself a few nice dresses, too, so he can show you off around town. He is quite proud of his beautiful, intelligent, wonderful associate."

"I'll see what I can do."


	12. Chapter 12

The next evening, Sookie was met in Shreveport by James, Lafayette, and to her surprise, Willa. She had asked Jessica originally, but she wanted to spend time with Hoyt. So James had stepped in, as Eric didn't like her to be in Shreveport after dark without a vampire. She'd figured Lafayette would come, but couldn't figure out why Willa had, especially considering how much Willa hated Eric. Apparently Willa had become good friends with the remaining vampires in Bon Temps; James, Jessica and Keith. Sookie had been surprised to learn that they were all now living with Jessica and Hoyt in Bill's mansion, which he had apparently talked Andy into renting to them for a dollar a month. They, of course, were paying him much more than that. But it was the biggest vampire-friendly residence in Bon Temps and Sookie was happy to know they were so close to her, since Eric had one of them guarding her at all times. Except, it seemed, for Willa. But even this proved to be untrue because, though she didn't take payment for it or alert Eric to it, Willa was filling in whenever they needed a break.

They had quickly gone through the list of items Pam had sent her to pick up, and it was down to dresses that Sookie wanted to buy to wear for Eric. James and Lafayette had let them shop for this part in peace, trusting Willa to be able to look after Sookie while they stopped in at a bar across the street. Sookie was surprised by Willa's willingness to help her, and asked her about it.

"Don't get me wrong, I'd love for my shitty maker to be miserable. But I like you, you've been nice to me the few times we've met. And I like your brother, he's been good to me as well. He was the one that set me up with the room at Jessica's. Try this one," Willa said, shifting gears as she pulled a yellow cocktail dress off the rack, "It looks like sunshine, so it's perfect on you."

"Are you sure the gift of clothing taste and shopping skills doesn't come from Eric? Because it seems all of his progeny have it," Sookie joked, eyeing the dress appreciatively.

"Honey, I was the daughter of a Southern Governor. I know how to shop all on my own," Willa retorted. "Besides, you strike me as the sweet Southern Belle type, just like me. So I think I can figure out what you like," she finished, holding out another dress, this time in pale blue.

"Well, you're not wrong," Sookie admitted, smiling. When they'd gathered about a dozen dresses a piece, they went back to the dressing room.

"Sookie, can I ask you a question?" Willa asked from the next dressing room.

"Sure thing, Willa."

"Eric's not forcing you to do any of the things he's got you doing, is he?"

Sookie was taken aback, "No! What makes you ask that?"

"I'm sorry. It's just, I don't even know my own maker. I hate him for that, but I don't know what to hate him for other than him not being around to help me. I don't know him enough to know if he's a decent vampire or not, but I like you and I want to make sure you're doing this because you want to," Willa finished

"Of course I do. I'd never do anything I don't want to. Well, that's not true, there's chores. But I'd never re-build someone's bar for them, then fly halfway around the world to see them if I didn't genuinely want to. I don't know everything about what happened with you and Eric, but I'm sure he regrets it," Sookie gambled, not knowing if this was true or not. Eric had few people he cared for, but she had to assume he cared about his progeny, no matter what happened between them.

"I doubt it. He only turned me because he thought he could use me against my father. It's not like Pam, where he wanted to turn her," Willa said, her honesty taking Sookie by surprise. "He left me to fend for myself, without a care to how I was doing until he needed me again."

"That's pretty shitty, I'll admit," Sookie said. "But I bet there's more to it than that. I mean, he thought he was dying when he released you, but I bet he wouldn't have done it if he hadn't. I think he cares about you."

"Well, I don't care about him," Willa said, emphatically. "No offense, since I know you all are working together, or whatever you're doing, but he can go to hell for all I care."

Sookie wisely let it go at that, and they spent the next hour finding dresses. Sookie used her company card to buy Willa's purchases as well, figuring Eric owed her that and more. They met up with James and Lafayette and went over to Fangtasia so Sookie could show them the renovations she'd made. On top of updating the decoration, she'd expanded the bar so that it now took up most of the block. She'd assumed that Eric and Pam's status as vampire saviors would mean that business at Fangtasia would likely increase in spades after their 'treatment' went public, so she'd prepared the bar accordingly.

They were sufficiently impressed with Sookie's work, and enjoyed a few drinks from the samples and gifts Sookie had received from the new vendors before James drove them all back to Bon Temps. They went to the mansion and spent a couple more hours enjoying each other's company. It was especially nice because it seemed with everyone pairing off, they didn't hold the grudges they might have held otherwise. Jason and Brigitte came over, as well as Arlene who wanted to spend time with Keith after she left the bar for the evening. Jessica, Lafayette and James seemed to have mended their fences and had no problems picking up their earlier friendship as though nothing had happened. Sookie noticed that Brigitte avoided Jessica and Hoyt, but was still comfortable enough being in the same room with them, now that she had Jason. It warmed Sookie's heart to know that Jason might have finally found the one. As though picking this thought right from Sookie's head, Jason cleared his throat and addressed the room.

"Listen up, y'all. I got something I wanna say. Now, I know we're in mixed company, and Bon Temps is kinda like a cesspool of dating history, but I figure things are different now. Life seems to have gotten back to normal, and we've got most of our friends here tonight, so I wanna do something I've been fixin' to do for a while now. See, I met this beautiful woman here, Brigitte, about three months ago. And I know the circumstances weren't the best at the time. But somehow, everyone made it through, and everyone's happy where they're at. And I know I'm real happy, the happiest I've ever been. So I wanted to know if the woman who's made me that happy, that's you Brig, if you would do me the honor of letting me try to make you as happy as I am now for the rest of my life? Would you marry me?"

Brigitte burst into tears, but managed to nod out a yes before the room erupted in cheers and Arlene got the music going, while Lafayette found a few bottles of champagne from the kitchen while Sookie found a couple bottles of the good mixed synthetic and human blood Bill had put away for special occasions and they set about serving everyone. To Sookie's surprise, there were no hard feelings, not a single one. Jessica was able to be happy for Jason, despite their history. Hoyt was able to be happy for both of them, despite their very twisted history. And Sookie was just pleased as punch that her brother was engaged.

After a few minutes, Willa pulled her aside. "How can you even stand this? We're the only two not paired off in this group, it's unnerving," she said, but without real feeling.

"Oh, I don't know, it's sweet. For once everyone gets to be happy, and trust me that never happens around here. Besides, it's my brother. Of course I'm thrilled. And a catch like you? You're gonna go next, just you watch," Sookie said, handing her a glass of the Royalty blended blood. This seemed to boost Willa's mood and she went to congratulate the newly engaged couple.

Jason finally made his way through the crowd to get to Sookie. "Well, Sook, what do you think?" he asked, seemingly nervous about her opinion.

"Jason Stackhouse, I think this is the best decision you've ever made," she answered, and meant every word of it.

Jason's grin lit up his face as he pulled her into a bearhug. "Thanks, sis. That means the world to me. Now you know you gotta be my best man, don't you?"

Sookie laughed, "How does that work?"

"Oh, you still wear a dress, but since we're the only family we got left, you stand up for me on my side. I can't think of anyone else who's more deserving to stand there with me."

"Jason, I'd be real honored to. Thank you." They hugged again, before Jason rushed over to kiss his future bride, and everyone cheered again.

Around midnight, Sookie was ready to head home. She made the rounds, hugging her fellow revelers, and was met by Keith at the door, who drove her the short distance to her house. He did a quick run through to make sure everything was okay, and turn on the lights for her, as was his custom, before bidding her a good night and heading back to the party.

She went up to her bedroom to change and get ready for bed, but decided she wanted to try her luck and see if Eric was still awake. She knew it was getting light later where he was and was hoping he'd still be awake.

"Good evening, Miss Stackhouse. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he answered on the third ring.

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Of course not, what's the matter?"

Sookie laughed softly, "Nothing's the matter. I just had a good night, and realized the person I wanted to share it with was all the way around the world."

"This is good," he murmured. "Except for the being across the world from each other, but that will change this weekend, at least for a while. Please, tell me what has happened."

"Well, the big news is my brother proposed tonight. He's gonna get married! And he asked me to be his best man, though that's mostly in spirit, I still get to wear a dress," she said, sounding relieved.

"Congratulations, Sookie. I know how much you worry about him. I'm happy to know he has settled down. Do you approve of his woman?"

"Absolutely. She's sweet, but she's smart and keeps him in check. I couldn't be happier."

"Then I am happy that you are happy," he said, honestly. She knew he wasn't her brother's biggest fan, but appreciated that he was trying to be supportive, nonetheless.

"Also, I got my shopping done and guess who joined me?"

"I couldn't possibly, please tell me," he conceded, and Sookie didn't push it.

"Willa."

This piqued his interest, "Really? Did she say why?"

"Apparently she likes me, and she's fond of Jason - in a friend way, not a romantic way. He helped her get set up at Jessica's mansion. She's apparently been helping them keep an eye on me. Though you can't tell her I told you any of this. But Eric, I think you need to reach out to her. I know you released her when you thought you were dying, but she's still your progeny. And she's still real young and confused. She's got Jess, James and Keith, but she's YOUR progeny - you're in a completely different league. I think she could be great, with your help."

Eric sighed audibly, "Sookie I appreciate you filling me in on her life, and I am happy to know she is doing well and is caring for you. And I will say that reconnecting with her is on my list of things to do when I get home, but until then, there's nothing I can do. Does she hate me very much?"

"She pretty much considers herself an orphan like Jessica," Sookie admitted.

"I royally fucked that up, didn't I?" Eric asked, an unprecedentedly candid statement coming from him.

Sookie choked back her laughter at his brutal honesty, "Yeah, you did. But you can fix it. Ain't like the two of y'all are goin' anywhere anytime soon."

Eric took the opportunity to change the subject. "Unlike you. Are you all set for Saturday morning?"

Sookie let it go and moved on with him. "Yeah, I think so."

"Good. Dawn is approaching, so I must go. But I will see you very soon, and I cannot wait."

"Same here. Goodnight, Eric."

"Goodnight, my Sookie."


	13. Chapter 13

When Sookie's flight touched down in Stockholm, she was exhausted and ready to be off of the plane. Eric had spared no expense and booked her a private jet, but even a posh private jet got old after a few hours. She had assumed Eric would meet her at the airport, so she was disappointed to see a limousine with a stranger holding a sign with her name.

"Miss Stackhouse?" asked the man whom she assumed to be the driver. His voice was heavily accented, but she was pleased that he spoke english.

"That's me," she said, approaching the limousine. The driver went around and opened the door for her as one of the airport attendants loaded her bags into the trunk. Sookie peered into the limousine, hoping Eric might have waited for her inside, as it was quite cold on the tarmac, but it was empty. She sighed, but found herself excited for her first trip in a limousine. There was a bottle of champagne waiting for her, with a glass and a note.

"Dear One,

I hope you had a pleasant flight. Did you know there is an app for tracking flights? I will be watching your tiny plane on my phone all evening as I suffer through tedious meetings that keep me away from you. I assumed you would be exhausted when you got here, so I am having Isak take you to the hotel so you can rest. I hear 'jet-lag' is brutal for you humans. Rest well, we have a busy few days ahead of us.

Yours,  
Eric"

Sookie smiled, she could tell just from the light-heartedness of his letter that he was happy, and eager to see her. She felt the same, and was only mildly disappointed that she wouldn't be seeing him right away. But she knew she needed to rest and refresh. She looked about as haggard as she felt after such a long flight. As the driver, Isak apparently, was returning to the limo, inspiration struck and she pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the plane before they pulled away. She sent it to Eric with a brief text.

"_**Tiny plane has landed. Back to work!"**_

Her phone chirped within a minute.

"_**Not a chance. Limo has GPS. See you soon, lover. x E"**_

Sookie laughed, and decided to enjoy the ride with a glass of champagne. She was half tempted to open the moonroof and stand up, like she'd seen people do in the movies. Only the memory of how cold it was outside stopped her from acting on the impulse.

The limo pulled up in front of a gorgeous hotel overlooking the water. There was a hotel attendant at her door immediately, opening it for her before she'd finished looking her fill .

"Miss Stackhouse, welcome to the Grand Hotel," he greeted, helping her out. "My name is Lucas, and I am most happy to tell you I have been appointed as your personal concierge for your time with us. Mr. Northman and Miss du Beaufort are our most honored guests, and we are pleased to have you as their guest. If you will, please join me in a short tour of the hotel while your bags are delivered?"

"That would be lovely, thank you," she said, excitement overcoming her exhaustion.

Lucas took her on a brief tour, showing her where the restaurants, bar, health center and business centers were. "Mr. Northman and Ms. du Beaufort are off-site this evening, but tend to hold quite a few of their business meetings in our conference rooms here, if you need to locate them for any reason," he explained when Sookie looked confused about why he was showing her that area.

"Thank you. I'm a little tired, could we head to the rooms?" she asked, failing to stifle a yawn.

"Of course. Please, follow me. I have your room key. You will be staying in our most prestigious accommodations, the Princess Lillian Suite. This comes with access to all of our amenities. As well as a personal staff, myself during the evenings, Ida during the day, and Isak will be your transportation if you need to go anywhere during your stay. The suite has a fully stocked kitchen, but we also have excellent room service and the restaurants you saw on our tour. But if you require anything else, Ida or I will gladly provide it."

"Thank you, Lucas. I'm sure I'll be just fine," she said as they reached the doors to the suite, her exhaustion finally overcoming her.

"No need to thank me. And gratuity is taken care of, so you know. I'll let you rest, I know you had a long flight. The phone numbers you'll need are on the back of your key card. Good evening, Miss Stackhouse."

"Good night, Lucas," she said, closing the door behind him. She turned to take in the room. It was huge and luxuriously decorated. She had no idea where to even look for her bags. Thankfully, a door opened a minute later and a gorgeous blonde woman, roughly her age, entered.

"Are you Sookie?" she asked, pulling her dressing gown tighter. To Sookie's surprise, she had a British accent, not Swedish as she appeared.

"Yes, and you?"

"I am Astrid. I am a...friend of Pam's."

Sookie snorted. ''_Friend' my ass'_ she thought, but said nothing.

"Pam asked me to show you around when you got here," said Astrid.

"That's real nice of you, but I'm exhausted. If you could just show me where I'll be sleeping, that would be great."

"Certainly, you're in Eric's room," she said, pointing towards a set of black doors on one end of the sitting room they were in.

Sookie laughed. "Oh, that's not presumptuous at all," she said, rolling her eyes.

Astrid laughed as well. "That is Eric, is it not?"

"Very true. I guess you've been staying with them a while?" Sookie asked, curiosity piqued.

"Yes. I am one of the scientists working with them."

"Business and pleasure, sounds like Pam," Sookie said, smiling almost fondly.

"Indeed. Your bags have been placed in there, there's an en suite with anything else you might need. I'll let you get some sleep, but it was nice to meet you, Sookie."

"Likewise, Astrid. Good night."

Sookie entered the bedroom and looked for her bags. She found them empty, in the closet. Her clothes were hung up or put away in the dresser, along with Eric's. Relieved to be free of that task, she made her way into the bathroom and had to laugh. It was horizontally striped, black and white, across the whole room. "The Swedish are weird," she muttered, but was glad to find her toiletries bag and use the large, circular shower.

By the time she'd finished everything, she was barely keeping her eyes open and practically had to crawl into the bed. She was asleep before she could even appreciate how comfortable the bed was.

A couple of hours later, she was awoken by a pair of strong arms wrapping around her. She couldn't help her sleepy grin. "Eric," she sighed, happily, turning over to face him.

"Sookie," he breathed, gazing down at her fondly. "I had planned only to fetch a change of clothes. But at the sight of you in my bed, I found I couldn't resist joining you for my rest. Is that okay?"

To both of their surprise, she simply said, "Yes," and snuggled further into his embrace.

"Good, because I really don't know if I could have torn myself away from you now that I've got you."

"Got me, have you?" she murmured, sleepily.

He tightened his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her hair, "Oh, yes. I'd say I have. And you're not getting away from me again."

"Works for me," she agreed, feeling sleep pull at her once again.

He laughed softly, "Back to sleep, dear one. We'll have plenty of time when you wake up."

When Sookie next awoke, she felt very disoriented. The room was dark, and her body told her it was night time, but Eric was still in his daytime rest, his grip on her even tighter in his lifeless state. She tried to wiggle free, and he moved behind her, tightening his embrace. "Do that again, lover, and neither one of us is leaving this bed any time soon," he whispered in her ear.

She startled, then laughed, pushing at his arms which loosened immediately. "Back to sleep, you. I'll be back before the sun goes down."

"You'd better be. I've got plans for you," he replied, grinning lasciviously, before going back to sleep.

"I'll bet you do," she muttered, rolling her eyes with a smile as she headed towards the bathroom.

Once she felt presentable, at least presentable enough for the people she would encounter during the day, she headed out to explore the suite. She passed a clock that informed her it was just shortly before noon, which would explain why it felt like night time, since her body was still on Bon Temps time.

She really hadn't taken the time to appreciate her surroundings the night before. The suite was extravagant, with a sitting room, dining room, office, kitchen, spa room, and even a small movie theater. "I guess Eric never is one to do something half ass…" she muttered to herself, or so she thought.

A trilling laugh came from behind her and she recognized Astrid's voice when she said, "No, no he does not. Good morning, Sookie. Or should I say afternoon, now? Are you hungry?"

"Good morning, Astrid. I'm starving."

"Let's order in, then, shall we?"

Sookie and Astrid got to know each other a little bit over a pile of pancakes almost taller than they were. The hotel, it seemed, also didn't do anything half ass and when she'd asked for a pancake stack, they delivered. In spades.

"Why didn't we order the fruit platter?" Sookie groaned, holding her overly full stomach. "I regret everything."

Astrid only laughed, also patting her stomach. "I know what you mean. Why don't we go down to the real spa and get pampered for a while until our stomachs are not so full? I know what Eric has planned for you tonight and I think you'll be happy for the spa visit."

This pulled Sookie's attention away from her aching belly. "Oh? And what's that?"

Astrid mimicked a zipper over her mouth, but said, "All I can tell you is it is a fancy dress night. Did you bring any? I can have the concierges bring you a selection if not."

"Good to know. No, I brought some. Eric's other progeny, Willa, helped me pick them out and she seems to have good taste, just like Pam."

Astrid smiled fondly, "She's not spoken of a sister."

"Oh! Forget I said anything. That's me, always sticking my foot in my mouth," Sookie rambled, awkwardly.

"It's fine. Pam and I don't talk as much as we, well…" Astrid trailed off.

"Fuck?" Sookie answered bluntly, laughing.

"How very American. But yes." Astrid replied, grinning.

"Come on, then. Off to the spa. Only you'll have to show me where it is because I was half comatose when he showed me last night."

"Yes. Let me make a phone call before we go. I'd arranged for the day off, but like Eric, I do not trust anyone to do anything right without my supervision," she said with a laugh. "Go on ahead, I'll meet you in the lobby."

"Sure," Sookie agreed, heading out the door. She paused halfway down the hall and decided she'd like to bring her purse in case she wanted to buy anything, or needed her phone. She let herself back into the suite, heading to the bedroom. When she had retrieved her purse and opened the door again, she could hear Astrid's voice, presumably on the phone. She made to cross the room quietly and exit, but something stood out to her. She closed the door to a crack and peered out. Astrid was pinching the bridge of her nose in what looked like frustration and pacing the room, listening to the other side of the call. When she spoke again, Sookie realized she wasn't speaking English. It took her a few sentences to recognize the language she was speaking, which was not Swedish, as she'd initially assumed. It was Japanese.

After her ordeal a few months ago, this alarmed her enough to dip into Astrid's head. But she was again met by a roadblock - she was thinking in Swedish. Astrid seemed to be wrapping it up as she strode fully into the sitting room and out the door. Sookie waited a couple of minutes to give her enough of a head start, then followed after her.

When she caught up to her in the lobby, Astrid was looking around with an annoyed expression on her face. It instantly changed to a smile when she saw Sookie approaching. "Sorry, got a bit turned around," Sookie explained, pasting on a smile.

"No matter, let's go. It's this way," Astrid said, leading Sookie across the lobby and down a side hall.

"So, how are things at work?" Sookie asked, as innocently as she could make it sound.

"Oh, fine, I suppose. I just have to make sure they're on the right track or no one ever makes any progress."

"I know what you mean, I just oversaw Eric's bar remodel and contractors are the same way."

Astrid laughed, "Yes, I suppose they are."

"So what is it you do for them?"

"Oh, well I'm one of the leaders in the field of synthesizing blood. I've been working in the field since before the vampires came out of the coffin, so to speak."

"How? You're like, my age."

Astrid laughed again, "Yes, well, I don't like to brag but there's a reason I'm at the top of my field. I'm a genius. A bit of a prodigy, really. Science came easily to me from a young age."

"That must be nice. To know the one thing you were meant to be doing, that you're the best at something so important," Sookie said.

"It's a gift and a curse, at times," Astrid replied, smiling sadly. "But, definitely a gift now. Pam mentioned you would be a business partner, so my gift is going to make us all very, very rich. And that's the dream, right?"

Sookie laughed, "Well, it was never my dream, but it sure beats waiting tables and wondering how I'm gonna pay my property taxes."

"That's the spirit!" Astrid said, grinning.

They had reached the spa and parted ways when they picked different things to have done. It was a weekend of firsts for Sookie. First time leaving the country, first time in a limousine, first time in a five star hotel, and now her first time at a spa. She'd booked as much as she could fit in the time she had free. By the time she exited - buffed, polished, and relaxed - she had a little over two hours to go before Eric would wake. She hurried back up to the suite, changed into a soft and short nightgown, then burrowed her way back into Eric's arms in the bed. She fell into a half sleep while contemplating what it was that had her alarms going off about Astrid's phone call. That was when it hit her. There was one word in her conversation that stood out because it wasn't in Japanese. She'd mentioned "Willa."


	14. Chapter 14

Sookie was brought out of her half sleep in what was sure to become her favorite way to wake up. Eric's embrace had tightened around her and he was placing sweet kisses along the side of her face, her jaw, her neck, her shoulder, her hair - anywhere he could reach in the spooning position they were in. His hand across her stomach was roaming in wider and wider circles, gently caressing the underside of her breasts as he pressed against her slowly, but rhythmically from behind.

"I think you've ruined me, lover. I never want to wake without you in my arms again," he purred into her ear.

"I think I feel the same way," she murmured, arching into his wandering hand as it made its way up her chest again.

"This is very good news," he breathed in her ear. "Very, very good news," he added, taking her earlobe between his lips. She could feel the brush of his fangs and it made her shiver. "Unfortunately, we have places to be this evening," he groaned, releasing her ear, "or I would have you right now."

Sookie turned her face to him and pouted.

"Don't tempt me with those delectable lips, woman. Actually…" he trailed off, gazing down at her with a wicked smile, "I do believe I owe you something. Something I promised you when you were sitting alone on a balcony in Mexico," he murmured, leaning closer to her until his lips brushed hers, gently. Then again, a little more insistently this time, his tongue brushing along her lips to get her to open for him, which she did, gladly. The kiss moved from gentle to passionate as the distance that had been between them for so long - not just the physical distance of the last few months, but the emotional distance ever since he'd regained his memories - fell away. Leaving them not as the vampire Sheriff and the telepathic fairy, but Eric and Sookie, lovers. Something they'd never gotten to be as themselves. He'd had his memories stolen, and she'd had her mental freedom stolen. It took the death of the one who'd stolen her freedom to allow them to realize that they truly were a match to be reckoned with.

They broke apart, gasping, so Sookie could catch her breath. Eric flopped over onto his back, throwing an arm over his eyes. "How am I expected to get out of this bed now?" he complained.

Sookie giggled, "Well, you were the one that said we had places we had to go. Plans for me, and all," she said, coyly.

Eric groaned, "This was part of those plans, just not so soon!"

"Not my fault," she teased, taking the opportunity to roll out of the bed and gather some clothes.

Eric had her pinned against the wall in less than a second after she did, "Not your fault?" he asked, smoothly, nuzzling his cheek against her neck and shoulder. "Lover, you smell divine. You always do, but tonight - you've been to the spa? You went to the spa, got pampered, covered in creams that make you smell even more delicious than you always are, made your skin even softer, smoother and more supple than it already is. Then you return to our room, and yes it is our room now, put on a short nightgown and crawl back into bed with me so I wake to an armful of ambrosia? This is most certainly your fault, my cheeky little fairy."

Sookie smiled, "Well, maybe I missed you," she breathed, kissing his forehead. "Maybe," she kissed his cheek, "Just a bit," she kissed his nose.

He laughed softly. "Just a bit?" he asked, running his hand down her body to cup her underneath the nightgown and run his fingers along her wet panties. "This feels like more than a bit." Sookie moaned and he chuckled again, "But I guess we do have things to do, as you pointed out."

"Screw it, whatever it is," she complained, arching into his hand.

"Oh, believe me, on the list of things I'd like to 'screw,' you are number one. Unfortunately, we are the guests of honor at the event we are attending, so we have to be there. I had no idea we would reconnect so quickly or I'd have arranged it on another night, believe me. But we must get ready to go soon."

Sookie sighed, "All right, just...just take your hand off the trigger, will you?" she said, closing her eyes tightly.

Eric laughed joyfully, "What a brilliant turn of phrase. Should I take my hand off the trigger? Or maybe I should fire away…." he mused, fingers moving inside of her panties. "We don't have much time, but there's always time for you, my lover."

Sookie was glancing over the room service menu when she saw the options for donors for the vampires. She walked back into their room where Eric was brushing out his hair. "Eric? Are you hungry?" she asked, trying to keep any type of flirtation out of her voice.

Eric quirked an eyebrow, "Are you offering?" he teased.

"Yes," she said, simply.

His expression softened into tenderness as he grasped her face between his hands. "Then yes, Sookie. Thank you very much for the offer."

Sookie felt her eyes tear up for some reason she didn't want to admit to, so she turned around like they'd done the last time and pressed her back to his chest, pulling her hair from her neck as she did. "Let me," he murmured, taking her hair from her hands, then running a trail of kisses down her neck, to the spot he knew she loved the most. He groaned softly as he sucked at the tender skin there, then she felt just the briefest sting before he pulled his fangs out and sucked lightly, lapping up the escaping drops with his tongue. He drank for only a short amount of time before biting his tongue and running it over the puncture wounds. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her as close as he could. "Thank you, my love." He kissed the crown of her head, "Thank you."

She pulled up one of his hands to her mouth and kissed it. "You're welcome."

"Would you do me the honor of drinking from me again? Just to strengthen our bond. I find that time and distance have weakened it and I would be quite happy to change that," he breathed into her ear.

She shivered, and said, "Okay."

She felt his grin against her head before he pulled back, biting into his wrist and placing it in front of her mouth. "Tell me when to stop," she whispered and he gasped at her trust in him before she placed her lips on his wrist and began to drink from him, greedily.

"Oh, yes…" he groaned, "Keep going, lover." He was rocking against her from behind, and she had a moment's regret that he hadn't let her take care of him earlier, but when he moaned his release into her ear, and pulled back his wrist, she felt all was well with him. Really felt it, apparently their bond was much stronger now and she could sense his happiness and contentedness.

"Mmm….I guess we should get ready, love," he murmured into her ear. All she could do was smile and nod.


End file.
